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THE 



HISTORY 



or 



SOUTH CAROLINA, 



FROM 



ITS FIRST EUROPEAN DISCOVERY 



TO ITS 



gREc:TjK)«i i^'tJjta r^pV^xkX 



WITH 



A SUPPLEMENTARY CHRONICLE OF EVENTS 



THE PRESENT f'iME. 



BY WILLIAM GILMORE SIMMS, 
Author of "The Vemassee," "The Partisan," "Damael ofDarieo," &c. 



CHARLESTON. 
PUBLISHED BY S. BABCOCK & CO. 



1840. 






ElfTKREP. 
ACCORDING TO TRE ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE YEAR 1S40. 

Br William Gilmore Simms. 

IN THB OFFICK OF ftlE CI.ERK OF Tilt IMSVKtCT COiy^T OF SOITII CAROLIXi> 

OCT Ifi JSl^^ 



TO THE YOUTH OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 

THIS RECORD OF THE DEEDS, THE TRIALS AND VIRTUES 

OF THEIR ANCESTORS, 

IS RESPECTFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED 

BY THEIR FRIEND AND COUNTRYMAN, 

THE AUTHOR. 



A ' 



PREFACE. 



The volume here submitted to the reader, is an attempt 
to supply what seemed to the writer a popular desidera- 
tum. A wish to provide an only daughter with a history ^ 
of the country in which she was born and lived, first led 
him to this conviction. He found it no easy matter to 
place before her the materials necessary to convey the 
desired information. He had, it is true, the several works 
already devoted to this subject. The various histories of 
Hewatt, Ramsay, Moultrie, &c., were all in his collec- 
tion ; but volumes so cumbious, and so loaded as they 
are with prolix disquisition, and unnecessary if not 
irrelevant detail, he felt convinced were in no respect 
suited to the unprepared understanding- and the ardent 
temper of the young. These authors wrote, generally, at 
a period when the doctrines of popular representation, 
of suffrage, self government and many other principles, 
regarded as essential to the preservation of social liberty, 
were either of novel suggestion r^r very imperfectly 
understood. It seemed necessary, and was, therefore, 
proper, in that early day, that they should be discussed 
at length. These discussions overloaded the narrations 
of the historian and impaired their interest. They were 
cumbered with opinions now regarded as truisms, which 
too greatly trespassed on the dominions of simple truth. 
So soon as the public mind had decided theoC questions, 
the discussions upon them necessarily sunk out of sight, 
and involved in their own oblivion the histories upon 
whicii they had been grafted. The latter, accordingly, 
ceased to be sought after, either for amusement or instruc- 
tion ; and finally, and by a natural transition, were thrust 
away into that general lumber house of 



IV PREFACE. 

"things that on earth were lost or were abused," 

a sort of Astolfo's mansions of the moon, 

" Which safely treasures up 

Whate'er was wasted ni our earthly state — " 

the upper shelves of the library — where, frowning in im- 
memorial dust and dignity, they enjoy the time honored 
epithets of " books of reference" — a classification for 
which their venerable writers never stipulated, and which 
would have very imperfectly rewarded the severe toils of 
elaborate authorship. 

Valuable in this point of vicAV, they are scarcely of 
present value in any other. To the great portion of the 
reading community they are entirely useless. For this 
reason, though long since oat of print, a re-publication of 
them is considered unnecessary, and would, indeed, in- 
volve in serious pecuniary loss the most cautious pub- 
lisher. The late re-print of Hewatt, Archdale and others, 
in the historical collections of Mr. Carroll, offers no ex- 
ception to the general justice of this remark. A reluctant 
subscription failed to pay the expenses of printing, and 
but for the liberal appropriation of the state legislature, 
after the risk had been incurred, that enterprising young 
citizen might have had reason to repent the rashness of 
his patriotism. He certainly would have gained nothing 
from his publication beyond the applause which is due to 
his public spirit. 

The cumbrousness of the works, of South Carolina his- 
tory, already existing, suggests another serious obstacle 
to their circulation as popular volumes. They are neces- 
sarily expensive. Books for schools and for the popular 
reader — the two objects for which the present abridge- 
ment is designed — must be cheap as well as compact. 
Strange as the fact may appear, this truth seems to have 
been only of recent discovery. It is only of late days that 
it has been thought advisable to recognize the poor among 
the other classes of book readers. A few years back, our 
authors labored under the ambition of bringing forth big 



PREFACE. 



books, — corpulent quartos if possible, but octavos at all 
hazards ; and with this ambition they seldom stopped 
short at a single volume. It would seem that they re- 
garded the size of the work as no imperfect token of the 
writer's merit. It followed from this ambition — an am- 
bition which in most cases effectually defeated its own 
object — that the quantity of the material furnished but 
a very uncertain rule in the construction of the volume. 
Its dimensions being arbitrary, what was wanting in 
fact was supplied by conjecture, and when conjecture 
halted and grew irresolute or blind, opinion came in to her 
relief, and between discussion and declamation, she hob- 
bled on through the requisite number of pages to the end 
of the chapter. The present age, if less ambitious, and 
no Mdser, is certainly more economical in this respect. 
Small volumes, neat abridgements, and the judicious sep- 
aration of subjects, not necessarily connected, into their 
proper classes, realizes all the natural energies of a 
free press, and places the learning and the wisdom of 
tip past and the present within the reach of the humblest 
and the poorest of mankind. 

Cheap literature to the poor is of scarcely less impor- 
tance, indeed, than was the discovery of the art of printing 
to mankind at large. The chief importance of this 
grand discovery, resting entirely on its power for diflusing 
knowledge rapidly through the world, it necessarily 
follows that the author who makes his book costly 
through, its cumbrousness, adopts a mode of pubUcation, 
which, to a great extent, must defeat the power of 
the press. The time occupied in printing, and the ex- 
pense of the work when printed, lessen greatly the infi- 
nite superiority which the modern printer possesses over 
the ancient scribe. We may instance the valuable work 
of Johnson, the life of Greene, as incurring, from its plan, 
some of these objjections and disadvantages. That work 
abounds in materials which, properly classified, would 
have made a dozen popular volumes. In its present 
state, the toil of the reader is continual and great to sep- 
arate the narrative from the discussion, which equally 



VI PREFACE. 

precedes and follows it — which wraps it, as in a cloud, 
and makes it difficult for the memory to compass and 
retain the several remote incidents which are necessary to 
a true comprehension of the subject. The result is, that 
a work which abounds in copious details and much spir- 
ited writing, and which relates to periods of the most 
exciting interest in our national and domestic history, is 
seldom read, and almost as unfrequently referred to. And 
yet no work of American biography, could the author 
have descended to the humbler task of making an abridge- 
ment, would have more amply rompensated both publisher 
and reader, than the same work stripped of its controver- 
sial additaments and contracted to the moderate compass 
of a single duodecimo. 

To this work of Johnson, we acknowledge our large in- 
debtedness. We have relied upon it in preference to all 
others, during that long period, crowded with fluctuating 
events, which followed the disastrous defeat of Gates at 
Camden, to the close of the revolutionary war ; and though 
studiously avoiding the expression of any opinion upon 
the vexed questions — some of them of very small impor- 
tance to the result — which the venerable author was, per- 
haps, only too fond of discussing, we freely avow our full 
confidence in the general fidelity of his statements, and in 
his habitual desire to discover and to declare the truth. 

For the account of the early settlements of the 
Huguenots, in and about Carolina, as contained in this 
volume, the simple and affecting narrative of Laudonniere 
in Hakluyt, has been chiefly relied on. The work of 
Hewatt, the narrations of Archdale, Glenn and others, 
contained in the " Historical Collections" have furnished 
the authorities next ensuing, down to the conflict of the 
colonies with parliament and the repeal of the stamp 
act. To Moultrie, Ramsay, Drayton and Johnson we owe 
what follows, to the close of the revolution, and the erec- 
tion of South Carolina, from a rebelling colony, into an 
independent and republican state. These have been our 
chief sources of information ; though, in our progress, we 



PREFACE. VU 

have found it advisable to consult Holmes, Bancroft, Gra- 
hame, and several other writers. 

The pretensions of the present volume are exceedingly- 
moderate. The aim of the writer, as already expressed, 
has been to provide a volume for the popular reader and 
for the use of schools — to supply the rising generation 
with such a history of the country as will enable them 
to satisfy their own curiosity and the inquiries of others. 
It is lamentable to perceive the degree of ignorance in 
which our people live, with regard to those events which 
made their ancestors famous, and which have given them 
equal station and security. To say that the great majority 
of our young people know little or nothing of the history 
of the state, is to do them no injustice. This ignorance 
was inevitable from the unwieldy cumbrousness and 
heavy cost of the volumes in which our history was 
locked up. To steer clear of the great errors of my 
predecessors, my first aim was condensation. My work, 
therefore, is little more than an abridgement. I have 
sought rather to be useful than original, and I have never 
suffered myself to be excursive. I have seldom ventured 
upon conjectures or speculations of my own, and in no 
instance where the conjecture would have called for, or 
merited, discussion. In the course of the narrative I have 
not scrupled to make occasional use of the very language 
of my authority, wherever it seemed particularly compre- 
hensive or felicitous. To place the facts in a simple 
form — in a just order — to give them an expressive and en- 
ergetic character — to couple events closely, so that no 
irrelevant or unnecessary matter should interpose itself 
between the legitimate relation of cause and effect ; and 
to be careful that the regular stream of the narrative 
should flow on without interruption to the end of its 
course, have been withme primary objects. 

To the mind of the youthful reader, the advantages of 
such a mode of condensation appears to me of obvious im- 
portance. The unbroken progress of connected events 
enchains the attention and beguiles while it informs the 
thought, until reading ceases to be study, and instruction 



Vlll PREFACE. 



persuades to industry through the medium of amusement. 
To say how far I have been successful in this design, 
must be the business of the reader. With a confident 
reliance on his justice and judgment, I leave my labors 
in his hands. 



Note. — Occasional, though small inaccuracies, will be found in this 
volume; the natural coi^gequence of the author's remoteness from 
the place of pubhcation. Some faults and trifling omissions are 
also to be amended. These will be corrected in any future edition 
of the work. For the present, they must be left to the good sense 
and indulgence of the public. 



THE 



HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



CHAPTER I. 

The Carolinas, North and South, forming twin prov- 
inces under the British dominion in America, were an- 
ciently a part of that extensive territory, known to the 
European world under the several names of Virginia, 
Florida, and New France. They extended northwardly 
along the coast, until they reached the confines of Vir- 
ginia ; southwardly as far as the Bay of Mexico, and 
stretched away, for many hundred miles, into the dense 
forests of the interior. Three great nations contended, 
on grounds of nearly equal justice, for the possession 
of the soil. 

England laid claim to it, according to one class of 
writers, by virtue of a grant from the Roman Pontiff; 
by others, her right was founded upon a supposed dis- 
covery of its shores in 1497, by John Cabot, an Italian, 
and his son, Sebastian, both in the service of Henry 
the Seventh. The Cabots approached the continent 
of North America, and penetrated some of its bays and 
rivers, nearly fourteen months before it was beheld by 
Columbus ; but made no attempt at occupancy. 

3 



10 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

The pretensions of Spain were based upon similar 
and equally worthless grounds. Juan Ponce de Leon, 
under her commission, discovered and traversed a neigh- 
boring territory, to which he gave the name of Florida, — a 
name which, in her ancient spirit of arrogant assump- 
tion, was made to cover a region of measureless extent, 
which she did not compass, and vainly sought to con- 
quer. Ponce was beaten by the natives, and driven 
from the country in disgrace. He fled to Cuba, where 
he died of a wound received in his fruitless expedition. 

To him succeeded one Velasquez de Ayllon, who 
sailed from St. Domingo with two ships. He made 
the shores of South Carolina, at the mouth of a river, 
to which he gave the name of the Jordan. This river 
is now known by the Indian name of Combahee. 
Here he was received by the natives with a shy tim- 
idity at first, the natural result of their wonder at the 
strange ships, and strangely habited visitors. Their 
timidity soon subsided into kindness, and they treated 
the Spaniards with good nature and hospitality. The 
country they called Chicora, a name which was proba- 
bly conferred upon it by some wandering tribe, and not of 
permanent recognition, since we hear of it no more from 
subsequent voyagers. An interchange of friendly oflices 
soon took place between the Indians and their visitors, 
and the latter were easily persuaded to visit the ships 
in numbers. Watching the moment when their decks 
were most crowded, the perfidious Spaniards suddenly 
made sail, carrying nearly two hundred of this innocent 
and confiding people into captivity. Velasquez, insen- 
sible to all feelings but those of mercenary exultation 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 11 

at the success of his unworthy scheme, pursued his 
way to St. Domingo, where a slave market had been 
already established, by the policy of Las Casas, who 
proposed to supply, with a hardier population, the place 
and numbers of the^ feeble natives, who were perishing 
fast under the unmeasured cruelties of their iron-handed 
masters. But his triumph was not entirely without its 
qualifications. One of his vessels foundered before he 
reached his port, and captors and captives alike were 
swallowed up in the seas together. His own vessel sur- 
vived, but many of his captives sickened and died ; and 
he himself was reserved for the time, only to suffer a 
more terrible form of punishment. Though he had lost 
more than half of the ill-gotten fruits of his expedition, 
the profits which remained were still such as to encour- 
age him to a renewal of his enterprize. To this he 
devoted his whole fortune, and with three large vessels 
and many hundred men, he once more descended upon 
the coast of Carolina. 

As if the retributive Providence had been watchful of 
the place, no less than the hour of justice, it so hap- 
pened that, at the mouth of the very river where his 
crime had been committed, he was destined to meet 
his punishment. His largest vessel was stranded as 
he reached the point he aimed at, and the infuriate 
natives, availing themselves of the event, set upon the 
struggling Spaniards in the sea. Two hundred of them 
were massacred, and, according to one account, though 
this has been denied, Velasquez himself, with others of 
his company, fell victims to the cannibal propensities 
of the savages. Whatever may be the doubts cast upon 



12 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

this latter statement, it is surely not improbable. Nothing 
is positively known of him after this event, and what 
we have of conjecture, describes him as living a life of 
ignominy, and dying miserably at last. 

The claim of France to the possession of the Caro- 
linas, rested upon the discoveries of one John Verazzani, 
a Florentine, who was sent out in 1 523, by Francis the 
First. He reached the coast somewhere, as is supposed, 
in the latitude of Wilmington, North Carolina. Here he 
found the country full of beauty to the eye. The forests 
were noble, and the various perfumes which reached the 
eeamen from the shore, intoxicated them with a thou- 
sand oriental fancies. The yellow sands gave ample 
promise of gold, which was the prime motive for most 
of the adventures of the time ; and the hospitality of the 
Indians suffered no obstacle to prevent the free exam- 
ination of their country by the strangers. 

Verazzani describes the natives as "gentle and cour- 
teous in their manners ; of sweet and pleasant counte- 
nance, and comely to behold." Their population, accord- 
ing to the imperfect account which he has given us, was 
" numerous ; well formed in limb ; having black and 
great eyes, with a cheerful and steady look ; not strong 
of body, yet sharp witted ; nimble, and exceeding great 
runners." The women are described as handsome, and 
of " comely forms ;" and, which seems to have been not 
unusual among the North American savages, the govern- 
ment of the tribe was in the hands of a woman. 

They seem to have possessed proofs of a more decided 
civilization than were apparent among the northern 
tribes. They dwelt in log-houses, so covered with 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 13 

matting as to be impervious to rain and cold ; they had 
boats, wrought by flint and fire from mighty trees, some 
of which were twenty feet in length ; and, a better evi- 
dence yet in their favor, they treated the European 
strangers with an urbanity, grace, and kindness,' which 
remind us of the patriarchal virtues enumerated in bible 
history. One of the crew of Verazzani, attempting to 
swim ashore, was so much injured in passing through 
the surf, that he lay senseless on the beach. They 
ran to his relief, rescued him from the waves, rubbed 
his limbs, gave him refreshment, and returned him in 
safety to the vessel. 

Thus far, it appears that these three great nations, 
through their agents, did little more than look upon the 
country to w^hich they asserted claims, which they strove 
afterwards to maintain by a resort to every violence 
and crime. Subsequently, two armies of Spain entered 
Florida ; the first, under Narvaez, well known as an 
unsuccessful adventurer in Mexico, and destined to be 
as little prosperous in Florida. He failed, was driven 
from the country, and perished in his flight, at sea. He 
was followed, a few years after, by an abler, if not a 
braver man. This was Ferdinand de Soto, a gentleman 
of good birth and fortune, who signalized himself in Peru, 
under the lead of Pizarro, and was considered one of 
the must eminent Spanish captains of the time. He 
projected the invasion of Florida, and, at his own 
expense, provided a noble armament of seven ships and 
a thousand men for this object. The Spaniards reached 
the bay of Espiritu Santo early in 1539, and had scarcely 
landed and pitched their tents for the night, when 

2* 



14 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

they were attacked, with partial success, by a large 
body of the natives. This was but a foretaste of what 
was yet in reserve for them. Undiscouraged by this 
reception, they boldly advanced into the country, upon 
that miserable march, which has been most erroneously 
styled " a conquest of Florida." Never was human ad- 
venture so unhappily misnamed. So far from De Soto 
conquering Florida, the Floridians conquered him. — 
Harrassed at every footstep — yielding bloody tribute at 
every stream that lay in their path, every thicket that 
could harbor an enemy, or mask an ambush — the Span- 
iards fought their Avay onward, entirely hopeless of 
return. The path before them alone lay open, and that 
was also filled with foes no less resolute than those 
they had left — as determined as they were strong, and as 
audacious as they were adroit. Nothing could exceed 
their audacity — their froward valor — their sleepless and 
persevering hate, De Soto reached the Mississippi, 
and was buried beneath its waters, a broken-hearted 
man ; having discovered, in the significant language of 
one of our own historians, nothing in all his progress 
" so remarkable as his burial place." The wretched 
remnant of his army, reduced to half their number, 
escaped, after a tedious period of suffering, to the shores 
of the gulf, whence they made their way to the river 
Panuco. 

Nearly thirty years elapsed, after the miscarriage of 
this enterprize, before either of the three great claim- 
ants of the soil renewed the attempt to occupy it. The 
strifes of empire at home, and, perhaps, the melan- 
choly results of all previous attempts, served to dis- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 15 

courage the rival monarchs, no less than their subjects, 
from prosecuting adventures which had hitherto been 
attended by nothing but disaster. 

At length, in 1561, the eye of the celebrated Hu- 
guenot leader, Coligny, Admiral of France, was turned 
upon the shores of the new world, as a place of refuge 
to which the Protestants might fly and be secure from 
those persecutions which they suffered at home, and 
from the worse evils which he saw awaited them. 
With this object in view, he succeeded in obtaining 
from Charles the Ninth, permission to plant a colo- 
ny on the borders of Florida. This expedition Avas 
entrusted to the command of John Ribault, of Dieppe, 
an experienced seaman, a brave soldier, and a staunch 
Protestant. He was attended by some of the young 
nobility of France, and his troops were mostly vete- 
rans. These were all, most probably, voluntary adven- 
turers. Charles was too bigoted a Catholic to contribute 
to the prosperity of a colony which he did not protect, 
and refused to avenge. His commission to the colonists, 
which was sufliciently ample, was simply intended to 
rid himself of a portion of his subjects, who had shown 
themselves as stubborn as they were intelligent, and for 
whom he subsequently devised a more summary mode 
of removal, on the dreadful day of St. Bartholomew. 

With two ships, Ribault set sail from France on the 
18th of February, 1562. His aim was to reach the 
river Combahee, called " the Jordan," to a knowledge 
of which the French had been already introduced 
by the discovery and disaster of Velasquez. Sailing 
too far to the south, he first made land in the lati- 



\ sV 



16 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

tude of St. Augustine, where he discovered the river 
St. John's, to which he gave the name of May River. 
Thence he pursued a northerly course along the coast, 
still in search of the Jordan, and naming the va- 
rious streams which he discovered as he proceeded, 
after well known rivers of France. The St. Mary's, 
for the time, became the Seine ; the Satilia, the 
Somme ; the Altamaha, the Loire ; the Ogechee, the 
Garonne ; and the Savannah, thu Gironde. The names 
which he conferred upon the rivers of South Carolina, 
they still partially retain. The Belle is now the "May," 
and the Grande, the "Broad." While he proceeded in 
liis search for the " Jordan," his two vessels were sepa- 
rated by a storm, in which one of them was supposed, 
for a time, to be lost ; but she had anchored in a bay 
which seemed the outlet of some magnificent river. To 
this bay, " because of the fairnesse and largenesse there- 
of," he gave the name of Port Royale. 

" Here," says the narrative of Ribault, " wee stroke 
our sailes, and cast anker at ten fathom of water ; for the 
depth is such when the sea beginneth to flow, that the 
greatest shippes of France, yea, the arguzies of Venice, 
may enter in there." 

The delighted Huguenots landed upon the northern 
bank of the entrance of Port Royal, which they believed 
to be one of the mouths of the Jordan, and gave them- 
selves up for a time to the contemplation of the aspects 
of the new world, which seemed to them no less beautiful 
than strange. The mighty oaks, and the " infinite store 
of cedars," enforced their wonder, and as they passed 
through the woods, they saw " turkey cocks flying in the 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 17 

forests, partridges, grey and red, little different from our's, 
but chiefly in bigness ;" they "heard within the woods 
the voices of stags, of bears, of hyenas, of leopards, 
and divers other sorts of beasts, unknown unto us." 
" Being delighted with the place," they set themselves 
" to fishing with nets, and caught such a number of fish 
that it was v/onderful." 

Having refreshed themselves with the fruits, the flesh, 
and the fish of this prolific region, with a curiosity 
stimulated by what they had already seen, the Huguenots 
ascended the river about fifteen leagues, in their pin- 
naces, when they beheld a group of Indians, who, at 
their approach, " fled into the woods, leaving behind 
them a young lucerne, which they were a turning upon 
a spit ; for which cause the place was called Cape Lu- 
cerne." Proceeding farther, Ribault came to an arm of 
the river, which he entered, leaving the main stream. 
" A little while after, they began to espy divers other In- 
dians, both men and women, half hidden within the 
v/oods ;" these " were dismayed at first, but soon after 
emboldened, for the captain caused stores of merchan- 
dize to be showed them openly, whereby they knew 
that we meant nothing but well unto them, and then 
they made a sign that we should come on land, which 
we would not refuse." The savages saluted Ribault after 
their barbarous fashion, and brought skins, baskets made 
of palm leaves, and a few pearls, which they freely 
bestowed upon the strangers. They even began to build 
an arbour, to protect their visitors from the sun ; but the 
Huguenots refused to linger. There is a tradition among 
the Indians, which preserves correctly the events of this 



18 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

meeting between themselves and the Europeans, and the 
very spot on which it took place is supposed, and with 
strong probability, to be that now occupied by the town of 
Coosawhatchie, a name borrowed from the aborigines. 

On an island — by some conjectured to be Lemon 
Island, by others, Beaufort — Ribault raised a monument 
of free stone, on which the arms of France were 
engraved, and took possession of the fertile domain, in 
the name of his sovereign. Here he built a fortress, 
" in length but a sixteen fathom, and thirteen in breadth, 
with flanks according to the proportion thereof," in which 
he placed provisions and warlike munitions, and to which 
he gave the name of Fort Charles, in honor of the reign- 
ing monarch of France, At the persuasion of Ribault, 
twenty-six of his men consented to garrison his fort, and 
when he had provided, as he supposed, sufficiently for 
their safety, he set sail for France, leaving one captain 
Albert in command of the colony. 



CHAPTER II. 

Ribault continued his voyage northwardly along the 
coast, but made no discoveries of any importance, and 
though he penetrated some rivers in his pinnace, he 
effected no landing. His crews became impatient for 
their own country. His officers congratulated him on 
having discovered " in six weeks, more than the Span- 
iards had done in two years in the conquest of their New 
Spaine ;" and pleased and satisfied with this conviction, 
his prows were turned to the east. He reached France 
in safety ; but the fires of civil war, which the sagacious 
mind of Coligny had anticipated, were already blazing 
in that kingdom. The admiral, struggling with dangers 
at home, and beset by powerful foes, against whom he 
could barely, and only transiently maintain himself, was 
in no condition to send supplies to the colony in Carolina. 
The forlorn few who remained in that wild country, were 
left to themselves, to their own enterprize, courage, and 
industry — qualities which, if exercised, might have amply 
sustained them among the hospitable natives ; but v/hich 
seem to have been utterly banished from their minds, by 
rashness, improvidence, and the most unhappy dissentions. 

When first left by their companions, the twenty-six 
Frenchmen, under their captain, Albert, duly impressed 
with their isolation, proceeded, without intermission of 
labor, to fortify themselves in their habitations. This 
done, they proceeded to explore the country, and mad© 



20 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

allies of several Indian tribes, north and south of their 
fortress. Audusta, the king or chief of one of these tribes 
— a name in which we may almost recognize the modern 
Edisto — was in particular their friend. He sent them 
embassadors, invited them into his country, furnished 
them with provisions, and admitted them to a sight of 
those ceremonies of his religion, which, among the 
Indian tribes, have been most usually kept secret from 
stranoers. Seme of these ceremonies were curious, like 
those of most savages ; an odd mixture of the grotesque 
and sanguinary. The scene of the performance, and 
one of their superstitious festivals, is thus described 
by Laudonniere. " The place was a great circuit of 
ground, with open prospect, and round in figure. All 
who were chosen to celebrate the feast, were painted, 
and trimmed with rich feathers of divers colors. When 
they had reached the place of Toya — such was the name 
of their deity — they set themselves in order, following 
three other Indians, who differed in gait and in gesture 
from the rest." 

"Each of them bore in his hand a tabret, dancing and 
singing in a lamentable tune, when they entered the 
sacred circuit. After they had sung and danced awhile, 
they ran off through the thickest woods, like unbridled 
horses, where they carried on a portion of their ceremonies 
in secret from the crowd. The women spent the day in 
tears, as sad and woful as possible: and in such rage 
ihey cut the arms of the young girls with muscle shells, 
that the blood followed, which they flung into the air, 
crying out as they did so, He-Toya — He-Toya — He- 
Toya." They had three priests, to whom they gave the 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 21 

name of lawas. These presided over their sacrifices, 
were their only physicians, and professed to deal in 
magic. They held almost unlimited power over the minds 
of their people, and dictated in all the counsels of the 
country. It was fortunate for the French that they took 
no alarm at their presence, and suffered the hospitality 
of the aborigines to pursue a natural direction. 

The provisions of the colonists soon failed them, 
and they were compelled to turn to the Indians for 
supplies. The humble stock of the savages was freely 
shared with them ; " they gave them part of all the victuals 
which they had, and kept no more to themselves than 
would serve to sow their fields," This excessive liberal- 
ity had the effect of sending the natives to the woods, 
that they might live upon roots until the time of harvest : 
and having thus exhausted the resources of the people 
of Audusta, the French turned to other tribes — to king 
Couexis, " a man of might and renown in this province, 
which maketh his abode toward the south, abounding at 
all seasons, and replenished with quantity of milk, 
come, and beans" — and to "• king Ouade, a brother of 
Couexis, no less wealthy than the former. The liberality 
of Ouade, whose territories lay upon the river Belle, 
(May,) was not less than that of Audusta. He received 
the French kindly, in a house hanged about with tapestry 
feathers of divers colors." " Moreover, the place where 
the king took his rest was covered with white coverlets, 
embroidered with devices of very witty and fine workman- 
ship, and fringed round about with a fringe dyed in the 
color of scarlet." This prince commanded their boats 
to be filled with provisions, and presented them with 

3 



23 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

six coverlets, like those which decorated his couch. The 
French were not wanting in gratitude, which they testified 
by similar presents, and the parties separated, equally 
pleased and satisfied. The colonists had scarcely returned 
to the fort, when it was destroyed by fire ; a catas- 
trophe which was soon repaired by their Indian neighbors. 
They hurried to the spot, and with an industry only 
equalled by their generous enthusiasm, a large company, 
under the direction of two of their chiefs, rebuilt the fabric 
in the short space of twelve hours. 

But no generosity of the Indians could enable them to 
supply the continual demands which the colonists made 
for food. The resources of Ouade failed them in like 
manner with those of Audusta, and a portion of the 
company was sent to explore the country. They were 
next supplied by Couexis, who added to his gifts a certain 
number of exceeding fair pearls, some pieces of fine 
chrystal, and certain silver ore. This last gift inflamed 
the minds of the colonists with new and fatal desires. 
They eagerly demanded whence the chrystal and the 
silver came, and were told that the " inhabitants of the 
country did dig the same at the foot of certain high 
mountains, where they found it in very good quantity." 

Hitherto, the French had conducted themselves in a 
proper and becoming manner. They had dealt justly and 
gently with the natives, and had been treated kindly. 
"But," in the language of the old chronicle, from which 
we quote, "misfortune, or rather the just judgment of 
God, would have it, that those who could not be overcome 
by fire nor water, should be undone by their own selves 
This is the common fashion of men who cannot continue 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 23 

in one state, and had rather overthrow themselves, than 
not attempt some new thing daily." 

The first civil troubles among the colonists began about 
a common soldier, named Guernache. He was a drum- 
mer of the band, and for some offence, the character of 
which is unknown, but which has been represented as too 
small to have justified the severity with which he was 
treated, he was hung without trial, by the orders of captain 
Albert. This commander appears to have been of a stern, 
uncompromising, and perhaps tyrannical temper. Such, 
at least, is the description given of him by those whom 
he ruled — a description not to be received without great 
caution, since it is made to justify their own violent and 
insubordinate conduct Avhile under him. His usual treat- 
ment of his men was said to he harsh and irritating ; and, 
while they were yet aroused and angry because of his 
alledged injustice to Guernache, he added still farther 
to the provocation by degrading another soldier, a favorite 
of the people, named La Chere. This man he banished 
to a desert island about nine miles from the fort, and there 
left him to starve without provisions ; his avowed desire 
being, that he should perish of hunger. This conduct, 
if truly reported, might well justify the mutiny which 
followed. A threat of their imprudent commander, to 
treat in like manner those who complained of this in- 
justice, precipitated a revolt. The colonists conspired 
against him, rose suddenly in arms and slew him. This 
done, they brought the banished La Chere back from his 
place of exile, where they found him almost famished. 
They then chose a leader from their ranks in the person 
of one Nicholas Barre', a man described by Laudonniere 



24 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

as worthy of commendation, and one who knew so well 
how to acquit himself of the charge, that all rancour and 
dissension ceased among them. Famine, and the lone- 
liness of their condition, contributed to dispose them 
peaceably. 

Hearing nothing from France, hope sickened within 
them, and they yearned to return to their homes. They 
resolved, by unanimous consent, to leave the wilderness 
in which, however hospitable had been the natives, they 
had found little besides suffering and privation. Though 
without artificers of any kind, they commenced building 
a pinnace. Necessity supplied the deficiencies of art ; 
and the brigantine rose rapidly under their hands. The 
luxuriant pine forests around them yielded resin and moss 
for caulking. The Indians brought them cordage for 
tackle ; and their own shirts and bed linen furnished the 
sails. The brigantine was soon ready for sea, and a 
fair wind offering, the adventurers prepared to depart. 
The Indians, to whom they left all their unnecessary 
merchandize, beheld their departure with a lively sorrow ; 
while the poor colonists themselves, " drunken with the 
too excessive joy which they had conceived for their 
returning into France, without regarding the inconstancy 
of the wind, put out to sea, and with so slender a supply 
of victuals, that the end of their enterprize became unlucky 
and unfortunate." 

For a time, however, fortune smiled upon their progress. 
They had sailed, without mishap, a full third of their 
way, when they were surprised by a calm. For three 
weeks they made but twenty-five leagues ; and to add to 
their trials, their supplies failed them. Twelve grains 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 25 

of corn daily, were made to answer the cravings of their 
hunger ; and even this resource, so carefully computed, 
lasted but a little while. Their shoes and leathern jerkins 
became their only remaining food, and death appeared 
among them, and relieved their misery by thinning their 
numbers. The picture of their distress is not yet com- 
plete. "Besides this extreme famine, which did so 
grievously oppress them, they were constrained to cast 
the water continually out, which on all sides entered into 
their barque." Each day added to their sufferings, so 
that, in the simple but strong language of the old chronicler, 
''being now more out of hope than ever, to escape this 
extreme peril, they cared not to cast out the water which 
now was almost ready to drown them, and as men resolved 
to die, every one fell downbackwards and gave themselves 
over altogether, to the will of the waves." From this 
condition of despair, one among their number, the man 
La Chere, who had been exiled by captain Albert, and 
who seems to have been of a character to justify the 
interest which his people took in his fate, was the first 
to recover. He encouraged them to take heart, saying 
they could now have but a little way to sail, and assured 
them that if the wind held, they should make land within 
three days. This encouragement prompted them to 
renew their efforts. They recommenced the task of 
throwing out the water from their sinking vessel, and 
endured for three days longer without drink or food. At 
the end of this time, seeing no land, they once more gave 
themselves up to despair. The want of food was their 
greatest evil, and the same person. La Chere, whose 
words had encouraged them so long, again came to 

3* 



26 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

l^eir relief. He proposed that one of their number should 
die for the safety of the rest. The lot fell to himself, and 
without struggle or reluctance, he bared his neck to the 
stroke. His flesh, distributed equally among them, ena- 
bled them to bear a little longer, until "God of his good- 
ness, using his accustomed favor, changed their sorrow 
into joy, and shewed unto them a sight of land. Whereof 
they were so exceeding glad, that the pleasure caused them 
to remain a long time as men without sense ; whereby 
they let the pinnace float this way or that way, without 
holding any right way or course." In this state they 
were picked up by an English vessel, which carried the 
few and feeble survivors of this expedition into England. 
Thus ended the first effort of the European world to found 
a permanent colony upon the continent of North America. 



CHAPTER III. 

Meanwhile, a treacherous peace had been made be- 
tween the imbecile Charles, and the Protestant part of 
his subjects. This peace enabled Coligny to direct his 
attention to the forlorn colony which had been left in 
Carolina. Its fate was as yet unknown in France. To 
relieve the colonists, three ships w^ere given for the ser- 
vice, and placed under the command of Rene Laudonniere ; 
a man of intelligence, a seaman rather than a soldier, 
who had been upon the American coast in a former 
voyage, and was supposed to be the most fitting that 
could be chosen, from many offering, to lead forth the 
present colony. Emigrants offered themselves in num- 
bers ; for Florida was, at this time, a country of romance. 
Men dreamed of rich mines of gold and silver in its 
bowels ; they had heard truly of its fruits and flowers ; 
and they believed, in addition, that, under its bland airs 
and genial influence, the duration of human life was 
extended. Laudonniere himself tells of natives whom 
he had seen, who were two hundred and fifty years old, 
yet had a reasonable hope of living forty or fifty years 
longer. These idle fancies, which could only have found 
credence at a period when the wonderful discoveries of 
Columbus and other captains, had opened the fountains 
of the marvellous beyond the control of the ordinary 
standards of human judgment, readily stimulated the 
passion for adventure, and the armament of Laudonniere 
was soon rendered complete and ready for the sea. A 



28 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA.* 

voyage of sixty days brought the voyagers to the shores 
of New France, which they reached the 25th of June, 
1564. They proceeded to May river, where they were 
received by the Indians with the warmest shows of 
friendship. They carried Laudonniere to see a pillar of 
stone which Ribault had set up in a former voyage, and 
the satisfaction of the Europeans may be imagined, when 
they beheld the pillar crowned with chaplets of laurels 
and other flowers, while its base was encircled with 
baskets of provisions, with which these generous children 
of the forest testified the unqualified measure of their 
friendship for their strange visitors. The Indians had 
learned glibly to pronounce the French word " ami," sig- 
nifying "friend;" and with this word in their mouths, 
men and women followed in crowds the progress of 
the vessels, as they coasted along the shore, showing 
a degree of attachment for their visitors, which seems to 
have had the unusual effect of producing a corresponding 
kindness in return. The French did not abuse a con- 
fidence so courteously expressed, and the future pages of 
this narrative, however painful to read where the dealings 
of the Europeans with each other are recorded, bear few 
evidences of that cruelty and wrong towards the Indian, 
which blacken so many of the histories of European 
conquest. 

Laudonniere, after some delays, in which he seemed 
to have almost forgotten one of the objects of his voyage, 
resumed it and proceeded northwardly, until he received 
tidings of the fate of the colony he came to succour. 
The news discouraged him in his design of visiting Port 
Royal. He stopped short, and for various reasons re- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 29 

solved upon establishing his new settlement at the mouth 
of the river May. A small hill was chosen, a little retired 
from the northern bank of the river, upon which he 
erected the arms of France ; and with favorable auspices, 
springing rather from his hopes and fancies, than from 
any obvious superiority in the place of his choice over 
that which he had resolved to desert, he commenced the 
foundation of the second European fortress in North 
America. The site chosen, though greatly inferior to 
that of Port Royal, had its attractions also. "Upon the 
top of the hill," in the warm language of Laudonniere, 
" are nothing else but cedars, palmes, and bay trees, of 
so sovereign odor, that balme smelleth nothing in com- 
parison. The trees were environed round with vines, 
bearing grapes in such quantity, that the number would 
suffice to make the place habitable. Touching the pleasure 
of the place, the sea may be seen plane and open from it ; 
and more than five great leagues off, near the river Belle, 
a man may behold the meadows divided asunder into 
isles and islets, interlacing one another. Briefly, the 
place is so pleasant, that those which are melancholick, 
would be forced to change their humour." The objections 
to Port Royal, exaggerated by the disastrous termination 
of the first settlement, are fitly opposed to this glowing 
description. " On the other side," says the same com- 
mander, " if we pass farther north to seek out Port Royal, 
it would be neither very profitable nor convenient; at 
least if we should give credit to the report of them which 
remained there a long time, although the haven were one 
of the fairest of the West Indies. In this case the 
question is not so much of the beauty of the place, as of 



30 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

things necessary to sustain life. It is much more needful 
to us to plant in places plentiful of victual, than in goodly 
havens, fair, deep, and pleasant to the view. In consider- 
ation vrhereof, I was of opinion to seat ourselves about 
the river of May ; seeing also, that in our first voyage we 
found the same only among all the rest, to abound in maize 
and corne, besides the gold and silver that loas found 
there ; a thing that put me in hope of some happy discovery 
in time to comeT 

The fort was built in shape of a triangle ; the landside, 
which looked westwardly, was faced by a little trench, 
and "raised with terraces, made in form of a battlement, 
nine foot high ;" the river side was inclosed Avith " a 
palisado of planks of timber, after the manner that gab- 
ions are made." On the south side there was a bastion, 
which contained a room for the ammunition. The fabric 
was built of turf, fagots, and sand, and remains of this 
primitive fortress are said to have been since discovered. 
When finished, it was named with all due ceremonies, 
La Caroline, in honor of the reigning monarch. The 
name thus conferred, extended over the whole country, a 
full century before it was occupied by the English. It 
remained unchanged, and was adopted by them, as it 
equally served to distinguish their obligations to Charles 
II, of England, under whose auspices and charter the first 
permanent European colony was settled in Carolina. 

Like their predecessors, the colonists under Lau- 
donniere, were well received and kindly treated by the 
natives of the country. At the first this reception was 
natural enough. Pleased with the novelty of such an 
advent, the poor savages did not anticipate the constant 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 31 

drain upon their limited resources, which would follow 
the coming of the French. Simple and uncalculating, 
they did not reflect how inadequate would be the supplies 
of their little corn crops, to meet the wants of so many 
additional mouths ; and it was only when their own utter 
impoverishment and famine ensued from their unwise 
hospitality, that they became conscious of their error. 
When they withheld their stores, the necessities of the 
strangers overcame all their scruples, Laudonniere took 
an unbecoming part in their petty wars, robbed their 
granaries, and made enemies of all around him. 

The inevitable consequences of such a condition of 
things, ensued among the colonists. Disaffection follow- 
ed, the authority of their leader was defied, and mutinous 
disorders became frequent. The emigrants to a new 
country, at its first settlement, are generally of a desperate 
complexion. Those under Laudonniere were particularly 
so. The civil wars through which they had just passed 
in France, had given them a taste for insubordination ; 
and appreciating their wants and habits, one La Roquette, 
a common soldier, conceived the idea of deposing his 
commander. He claimed to be a magician, and pretended, 
by reason of his art, to have discovered a mine of gold 
or silver, at no great distance up the river. He invited 
his comrades to join with him in effecting this discovery* 
He pledged his life on the issue. Some trifling ac- 
quisitions of silver which they had made, by trade among 
the Indians, strengthened his assurances, which soon 
became generally believed. He found an active coad- 
jutor in another soldier, named La Genre, who had taken 
offence at Laudonniere, because he had been denied the 



32 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

command of the packet which returned to France. — 
These wretches conspired the death of Laudonniere ; 
first by poison, then by an explosion of gunpowder. 
Their schemes failed, most probably through their own 
want of courage. Meanwhile, a captain Bourdet arrived 
at the settlement, with an additional body of soldiers 
from France, which timely event, perhaps, restrained the 
more open development of their hostility. Laudonniere, 
thus strengthened, seized this occasion to examine into 
the conduct of La Genre, who had shown himself the 
most active among the discontents. The chief officers 
were assembled for this purpose, but the criminal fled 
to the woods, and took shelter with the Indians. After 
the departure of Bourdet, the conspirators, no longer 
restrained by the presence of numbers, resumed their 
evil practices. Availing themselves of the sickness of 
their commander, they put themselves in complete armor, 
and under the guidance of three ringleaders, Fourneaux, 
La Croix, and Stephen le Genevois, they penetrated his 
chamber and seized upon his person. Depriving him of 
his arms, they carried him on board ship, where they 
extorted from him, under the most atrocious threats, a sort 
of passport or commission for the seas ; an instrument 
which they immediately employed to cover a premeditated 
course of piracy. They seized two of his vessels, and de- 
parted for the West India islands, where they succeeded 
in seizing upon the governor of Jamaica, and possessing 
themselves of considerable xvealth besides. They deman- 
ded a large sum for his ransom, and in order to procure it, 
permitted him to send messengers to his wife. The wily 
governor contrived, by the same messengers, to apprise 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 33 

the captains of his vessels, of his true situation. They 
came to his relief, and so completely were the pirates en- 
snared, that the governor, with all his ships and treasure, 
was rescued from their possession. One of the French 
vessels escaped under the guidance of the pilot, who had 
been forced by the pirates from Fort Caroline, and who, 
without their knowledge, carried her back to May river. 
Want of food compelled the pirates to return to the com- 
mander whom they had deserted, and the opportunity thus 
afforded for avenging his own wrong, and punishing the 
criminals against his authority, was not suffered to escape. 
Four of the chief conspirators were seized, condemned 
and executed, as an example to the rest ; and this sum- 
mary justice done, the discontents and strifes of the col- 
ony were ended for a brief period. 

Laudonniere was soon after this relieved from some 
of the cares of his government, Ribault arrived from 
France in command of a well appointed fleet, and with a 
commission to supercede him. Some mutual distrusts 
and jealousies between the two commanders, were recon- 
ciled after a friendly explanation, but the former, though 
offered equal authority with Ribault, resolved on yielding 
up his charge. His successor had scarcely commenced 
his duties, before he was beset by dangers of a new and 
formidable character. His fleet had been closely followed 
from Europe by one under the command of Pedro Melen- 
dez de Avilez, a Spanish captain of great renown at that 
period. In the command of a far superior force to that of 
Ribault, he seemed to be advised of all the movements of 
the latter ; and it is the conviction of most historians, 
that his master, the king of Spain, had been duly informed 

4 



34 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

by Charles IX. of France, that the Huguenot interest in 
the new world was one which it did not concern him to 
maintain. The indifference, at least, of the one Catholic 
monarch, readily surrendered to the tender mercies of 
another, a people who had audaciously withdrawn them- 
selves from that spiritual control of Rome, which they both 
equally acknowledged. There is no question that the 
Spaniards knew of all the movements, objects, and 
strength of armament of the Huguenot commander. Me- 
lendez was chosen to conduct an enterprize which was 
considered of equal importance to the interests of church 
and state. The French were Protestants, and they were 
supposed to be trespassers upon a territory to which, un- 
der the general name of Florida, the Spaniards asserted 
an exclusive title. He was invested with the swelling 
title of a Spanish Adelantado. The hereditary govern- 
ment of the Floridas was conferred upon him, and, at the 
call of the church, three thousand men volunteered to 
crowd his armament, which consisted of nearly twenty 
vessels. But, deserted by their earthly monarch, the Hu- 
guenots were for a time, indirectly, the care of heaven. 
The fleet of Melendez was met by storms, and his force 
lessened ere he reached the coasts of Florida, to one 
third of its orioinal strength. But this disaster did not les- 
sen the confidence of the Spaniard in his own fortune, and 
the bigotry of his mind gave a degree of enthusiasm to his 
resolve, which supplied the deficiencies of his armament. 
He rebuked the counsel of those who advised, in the 
shattered state of his vessels, and the diminished force 
of his crews, that, for the present, the expedition should 
be abandoned. "The Almighty" said he, "has thus re- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 35 

duced our strength that his own might more completely 
do the work." 

Sailing along the coast, he discovered a fine haven 
and beautiful river, to which he gave the name of St. 
Augustine, and where he subsequently founded the noble 
fortress of that place. Continuing his route northwardly, 
he discovered a portion of the fleet of Ribault. The 
French, as he approached, demanded his name and ob- 
ject. " I am Melendez of Spain," was the reply : — " I 
am sent with strict orders from my king, to gibbet and 
behead all the Protestants in these regions. The French- 
man who is a Catholic I will spare, — every heretic 
shall die." 



CHAPTER IV. 

The language of this reply, the uncompromising hate 
which it expressed, and the threat which it conveyed, 
struck terror to the hearts of the Huguenots. Feebler 
than their foes, and unprepared for battle, such as re- 
mained in the ships resolved upon flight. The approach 
of evening. Mobile it prevented them from doing so in the 
first moment of their alarm, saved them also for the night 
from their enemies. But with the dawn of day they cut 
their cables, hoisted sail, and stood out to sea. They 
were closely pursued and fired upon all day, but escaped 
by superior sailing. Melendez returned to the harbor of 
St. Augustine, of which he took possession in the name 
of Philip H. whom he proclaimed monarch of all Amer- 
ica, with the most solemn ceremonies of religion ; and 
under the favoring auspices of partial success, the build- 
ing of the town, the oldest in the United States, was 
begun. 

While the Spaniards were thus employed, the colonists 
at Fort Caroline were neither idle nor apprehensive. 
Ribault resolved upon the most manly alternative. He 
resolved to anticipate the assaults of the enemy, and seek 
Melendez at sea. Crowding his main strength into his 
vessels, he left but a small garrison behind for the pro- 
tection of his women and children, the sick of the expe- 
dition, and the stores. The garrison under Laudonniere, 
did not exceed eighty men, and not more than twenty of 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 37 

these were effective. The heavy ships which had fled 
before Melendez, joined him, and the French commander 
proceeded south, with almost certain assurances of suc- 
cess. He found the fleet of Melendez without its com- 
plement of men, who were on shore, and moored in a 
situation that seemed to make its fate inevitable. Two 
hours would have sufliced for its destruction, and would 
have placed in the hands of Ribault suflicient means for 
the annihilation of his enemy ; but one of those sudden 
tempests, so common in those latitudes, suddenly arose, 
baffled his hopes, and drove his vessels down the gulf of 
Florida. The storm lasted from the first week in Sep- 
tember to the beginning of the following month, and in 
that time the ships of Ribault were dashed to pieces 
against the rocks, full fifty leagues south of Fort Caro- 
line. The men escaped only with their lives. 

This disaster gave an entirely new aspect to the for- 
tunes of Melendez. Without knowing the extent of 
Ribault's misfortune, he at least knew, from the violence 
and long continuance of the storm, that many days must 
elapse before Ribault could return to his colony ; and of 
this conviction he availed himself with that promptness 
and boldness which distinguished his character, and 
which had shone more worthily in the prosecution of any 
other labor. With a fanatical indifference to toil, he led 
five hundred picked troops, overland through the lakes, 
wastes and forests which divided St. Augustine from 
Fort Caroline, and was sheltered from sight in the forests 
which surround it, before Laudonniere had a suspicion of 
his having left St. Augustine. Cruel and dark, if not 
strange, was the superstition which seems to have clouded 

4* 



38 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

the minds, and embittered the hearts of these stern ad- 
venturers. The massacre of the French as heretics, had 
been long before deliberately resolved upon. Solemnly, 
on bended knee i-n prayer to the Almighty, did they pre- 
pare themselves for this unhallowed sacrifice. From 
prayer they rushed to slaughter ; the feeble garrison was 
surprized, and dreadful was the carnage that ensued. 
The old, the sick, women and children, were alike mas- 
sacred. The humanity of Melendez, after the havoc had 
raged for some time, tardily interposed to save such of the 
women, and the children under fifteen years, that still 
survived. But many of the garrison were preserved for 
a more terrible sacrifice. As if a distinct testimony were 
needed to show that this atrocious consummation of their 
crime was an act of faith, and a tribute to that gentle and 
benignant God who came only to propitiate and save — the 
living and the dying, after the fury of the fight was over, 
were hung together upon the boughs of a tree, and left 
to shrivel in the sun. An inscription upon a stone be- 
neath, declared the motive of this meritorious deed. "We 
do this," wrote the fanatic, "not to Frenchman, but to 
heretics." 

Nearly two hundred persons were massacred. A few, 
leaping from the parapet when all was lost, escaped into 
the woods ; among them were Laudonniere, Challus, and 
Le Moyne, a painter who had been sent out with the col- 
ony, with an especial regard to the exercise of his art. 
From these we gather the horrors of the scene, which 
was not yet finished. But Avhither should the fugitives 
turn ? Death was every where around them ; the forests 
had no refuge, the sea no hiding place. " Shall we sur- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 39 

render to the Spaniards, and appeal to their mercy?" be- 
came the question among them. " No !" said Challus, — 
" Let us trust in the mercy of God — we can not in these 
men." 

Unfortunately, there were some who refused to adopt 
this resolution. They had hopes that the tiger rage 
of their conquerors was already sufficiently glutted by 
the blood which they had drunk. They gave them- 
selves up, and shared the fate of their comrades. Those 
who followed the counsel of Challus, found their way to 
the sea side, and were received on board of two French 
vessels under the command of the son of Ribault, which 
had lingered in the harbor, and had dropped down the 
river beyond the reach of cannon, as soon as they discov- 
ered the fate of the fort. Mass was said when the carnage 
was over ; and while the earth was yet smeared and 
soaking with the blood of men made in God's likeness, 
the site was chosen for a church to be dedicated to God. 

The work thoroughly finished, the butcher led his sol- 
diers back to St. Augustine in all haste, as he feared the 
possible retaliation of Ribault upon that post. Of the fate 
of this unfortunate commander he knew nothing. Cast 
upon the shore with a small supply of provisions, and 
only in part provided with the weapons of defence, the 
Frenchmen were almost abandoned to despair. A long 
stretch of swamp and forest, filled with enemies, heathen 
and christian, equally hostile and equally savage, lay be- 
tween them and their place of hope and supposed refuge. 
It remained for them only to reach Fort Caroline, or sur- 
render themselves to the doubtful mercies of the Span- 
iards. They resolved to go forward, and were divided 



40 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

into two bodies for this purpose. It is probable that thus 
divided they pursued different routes, with the view to the 
more easy procuring of their food. One of these bodies, 
preceding the other, reached the banks of a small river 
twelve miles south of St. Augustine. Before they could 
procure the means of effecting the passage, they were 
encountered by Melendez at the head of forty soldiers. 
There, for the first time, he learned the fate of Ribault's 
fleet. The shipwrecked men were in a state of helpless 
weakness, half famished, subdued in spirit, wanting equal- 
ly in food and water. Melendez invited them to rely on 
his compassion. His invitation was complied with. 
The French yielded by capitulation, and were brought 
across the river by small divisions, in a single boat. 
As the captives stepped upon the bank occupied by 
their enemies, their hands were tied behind them ; a 
measure of precaution which probably did not alarm 
them, as they must have seen the smallness of the Span- 
ish force. Two hundred were transported in this man- 
ner, and when brought together in the forests, at some 
distance from, and out of sight of their companions who 
were yet to cross, ' 'at a line marked with his cane upon 
the sand," and at a signal from Melendez, they were set 
upon and butchered. Their carcasses were left unburied 
where they were slain. 

A few days elapsed, when the remaining party, under 
Ribauit himself, appeared at the same river, and were 
met, like the former, by the inveterate Spaniard. On 
this occasion, Melendez brought with him a more impos- 
ing force. A protracted negociation followed, and a large 
ransom was offered by the Frenclimen ; but Melendez, 



/ 

THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 41 

deliberately pacing the river bank, and permitting the 
negotiators to come and go at their pleasure, yet varied 
nothing from his first expressed resolution. He required 
them to surrender at discretion. He is even said to 
have set food and refreshments before them, while medi- 
tating a cruelty towards them like that which he had so 
inflexibly shown their comrades. Ribault, himself, cross- 
ed the river with several of his officers, without restraint, 
but without moving the stern decision of the Spaniard. 
He was respectfully received, conducted to the plain 
where the carcasses of the slaughtered party which pre- 
ceeded him lay bare to the elements, was informed of 
the manner of their fate, and of those left in Fort Caro- 
line, and was still required to surrender at discretion. 

It was in vain that these Avretched men urged, that, as 
the two monarchs of their respective countries were not 
only at peace, but in alliance, they could not be treated as 
enemies. The answer was, "the catholic French are our 
friends and allies ; but with heretics I wafje a war of 
extermination. In this I serve both monarchs. I came 
to Florida to establish the catholic faith. If you are sat- 
isfied to yield yourselves to my mercy, I will do with you 
as God shall inspire me. If not, choose your own course ; 
but do not hope from me either peace or friendship." 

With this final answer Ribault returned to his comrades. 
It is somewhat surprising, that a commander who has 
been reputed so brave as himself, should have been con- 
tent to parley with such a monster, after so bold an avowal 
of his resolves, and after the unstinted revelation which 
he had made of the treatment of his former captives. It 
is still more a matter of surprise, that he should at length 



42 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

have delivered himself up, on any terms, to a wretch so 
bigoted and sanguinary. The exposure of the mangled 
corses of his countrymen, slain as captives, and under an 
assurance of mercy, should have provoked in the surviving 
French, a resolution to incur any hazards, not merely in 
maintaining the possession of their arms, but in revenging 
their slaughtered brethren. But fatioue and starvation sub- 
due in time the boldest natures, and nothing, surely, but 
the sheer exhaustion of spirit and frame, could have re- 
conciled the unfortunate Ribault to the course which he 
subsequently adopted. Perhaps, indeed, he had some hope 
from the very audacity of Melendez. He fancied that 
the object of the Spaniard Avas to make the merit of his 
mercy the more — that he was already sated with blood, 
— and simply insisted upon the hard terms which he pro- 
posed, for the gratification of a tenacious pride, which 
nothing short of unqualified surrender could well satisfy. 
Whatever may have been the reasonings of the French 
commander, he resolved to submit himself, with one hun- 
dred and fifty others, to his enemy ; but the remainder of 
his men, two hundred in number, determined more wisely 
to brave every form of danger rather than yield to one who 
had shown himself so merciless. A melancholy separation 
of this forlorn band took place. Ribault led his division 
into the hands of Melendez, and being tied with ten oth- 
ers suffered with the rest. The two hundred who retained 
their arms, met with a milder fate. Returning to the 
wrecks of their vessels, they raised a temporary fortress 
for their defence, and proceeded to build a vessel to 
assist their escape. But their inhuman enemy was not 
willing to leave his work unfinished. He pursued them 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 43 

to their place of partial refuge. From this they were 
driven, and flying to an elevated piece of ground, they 
prepared for the last conflict, resolved to sell their lives 
dearly if they could not repulse their foe. Their desper- 
ate demeanor and unyielding aspect, together with the 
advantage of their position, compelled Melendez to abate 
something of his inveteracy and hate. A negotiation 
was opened, and they received a solemn assurance of 
security and kind treatment — an assurance which, in this 
case, was followed by no breach of good faith. But no 
assurance, however solemn, from those who had been so 
faithless before, could satisfy the commander of this little 
party. His name is not given us, but his unbending 
resolution of character merits every encomium. He 
resolved rather to trust the forest thickets, with their 
troops of savage men and savage beasts, than such mon- 
sters as the Spaniards had shown themselves. With 
twenty followers, who felt like himself, he separated from 
his company, and disappeared from sight. The Span- 
iards hunted them in vain. They were never heard 
of more. Those who received the protection of Melen- 
dez, either established themselves in Florida, or found 
their way, at a remote period after, to their several 
homes. 

The French writers assert, that Ribault was flayed 
alive, his body burnt, and his stufl'ed skin sent to Europe 
as a worthy trophy of the conqueror, and a fitting tribute 
to the Christian and throned barbarians who then ruled 
over half the world. The number of the victims is com- 
puted at nine hundred. The Spanish authorities dimin- 
ish this number, but not the atrocity of the deed. Me- 



44 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

lendez returned to Spain, impoverished but triumphant. 
He was well received by his sovereign, to whom his ser- 
vices had been of so grateful a character ; and his only 
human punishment, so far as the knowledge has been 
obtained, is the infamous notoriety which has followed the 
record of his deeds. 



CHAPTER V. 

The tidings of these dreadful massacres, when they 
reached France, awakened every where, but at court, a 
burning sentiment of indignation. There, they carried an 
odor, such as was offered to the kingly nostrils by the 
bloody fumes of a like sacrifice, on the day of St. Bar- 
tholomew. The French government heard with apathy, 
if not with satisfaction, of an outrage which ofiended the 
moral sense of Christian Europe. It did not even offer 
a remonstrance on the destruction of a colony, which, if 
maintained, would have given to France an empire in the 
new continent, before England had yet founded a planta- 
tion. But the feelino^ of the court was not that of the 
nation. The people, Catholic no less than Protestant, 
burned with the sentiment for vengeance, which they were 
yet compelled to smother. This sentiment was at length 
embodied into form, and found utterance in the deeds of a 
gallant Gascon. The Chevalier Dominique de Gourgues 
— the very personification of intense heroism and a noble 
nature — rose up to redress his murdered countrymen 
and his insulted country. He was a Catholic, born at 
Mont Marsan, county of Cominges. His youth had been 
passed in warlike enterprises, and his reputation as a 
subaltern officer was not surpassed by any in France. 
His life had been a series of surprising adventures. He 
had passed from service to service and won reputation in 

5 



46 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

each. He became the captive of the Spaniards, while 
fighting against them in Italy ; and his obstinate valor, 
which would have met with the admiration of a grenerous 
enemy, received but chains from his Spanish captors. 
He was consigned to the gallies, and was rescued from its 
oars only to fall into another form of bondage. The prize 
in which he rowed was taken by a Turkish corsair. 
Redeemed from Algerine slavery, he returned to his 
country in season to revenge its wrongs. His own 
treatment at the hands of his Spanish captors, may have 
helped to warm his indignation. 

By the sale of his property, and the voluntary contribu- 
tions of his friends, he found means for the equipment 
of a small fleet of three vessels. With a crew of one 
hundred and fifty men, he sailed from Bordeaux, on the 
22nd of August, 1567, disguising his real purposes from 
the public, by the avowed intention of engaging in the 
slave trade on the coast of Africa. 

Such was the nature of the commission under which 
he sailed ; and the object which he afterwards pursued, 
seems to have remained entirely unsuspected. De Gour- 
gues, however, had contrived to secure the services of 
one of the soldiers who had escaped with Laudonniere 
from Florida. When fairly at sea, he declared his true 
purpose to his soldiers. He painted, in glowing language, 
the wrongs of his countrymen — the brutality of the Span- 
iards — the cries of the thousand widows and orphans 
which they had made in France — their prayers unheeded 
— their injuries unredressed. His speech, which is pre- 
served, is a fine specimen of manly eloquence and pat- 
riotism. It had the desired effect upon his men. With 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 47 

one voice they adopted liis resolution. They declared 
their wish to follow him and avenge the murder of their 
countrymen, and the dishonor done to France. 

De Gourgues himself had but the one object. He did 
not seek to colonize ; his force was too small for that. 
But it was sufficient, under his guidance, and moved by 
his spirit, for the purposes of destruction. Nor was his 
vengeance long delayed. The shores of Florida soon 
after rose in sight, and so entirely unsuspicious of danger 
were the Spaniards in possession of La Caroline, that 
they gave the fleet of De Gourgues a salute as it ap- 
peared. This salute he returned, the better to confirm 
them in their dangerous security ; and passing on to the 
river, by the French called the Seine, he entered it and 
came to a landing with his men. Here he was soon dis- 
covered by a formidable body of the savages, headed by 
no less than eight of their principal chiefs. They recog- 
nized the French costume and language, and their delight 
was unmeasured. Before De Gourgues could declare his 
purpose, they denounced the Spaniards, as well for their 
murders of the French, as for their own repeated wrongs 
to themselves, and declared their desire to destroy them. 
So desirable an offer was at once accepted. They were 
provided with pikes, swords and daggers, and at once 
embodied with the French, though still under the com- 
mand of their own warriors, — one of whom, named 
Olotocara, greatly distinguished himself in the assault 
upon the Spanish forts. These were three in number ; 
that of La Caroline being strengthened by two similar 
structures immediately contiguous. De Gourgues made 
his approaches with the coolness of a veteran. He sent 



48 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

forth spies, both French and Indian, and regulated his 
assauh by their reports. The defences of the Spaniards 
were very complete, and but for the surprise which 
they experienced, and the terror which they felt at an 
exaggerated report which had reached them of the num- 
bers of the French, the results might not have been so 
agreeable to the cause of justice. 

The two small forts were carried by storm, and the 
men not slain in the assault, were carefully reserved for 
the final sacrifice, which De Gourgues meditated from the 
first. The avenues leading to La Caroline, were then 
occupied by the Indians, so that there remained no pos- 
sibility of escape for the fugitives. This done, De Gour- 
gues proceeded to a deliberate survey of all the difficul- 
ties of the enterprise. He soon discovered that it must 
be carried by escalade. It was defended by three hun- 
dred men under a valiant governor, had a large number 
of culverins and other cannon of various sizes, plentiful 
supplies of ammunition, and provision in abundance. 

While the French — having retired to a wood for shelter 
from the Spanish cannon, which began to play upon 
them warmly from the moment when they came in sight 
— were preparing their ladders for the escalade, the gov- 
ernor of the fort precipitated his defeat. Under an excess 
of valor, he imprudently sallied forth with sixty of his men, 
and had advanced but a little distance, when he found him- 
self suddenly surrounded by the French under De Gour- 
gues and his lieutenant, Cazenove, who cut ofi" his return, 
and slew his party to a man, on the spot where they were 
encountered. The besieged, who beheld this exploit, 
jiow left without a commander, were so terrified by the 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 49 

event, that in their panic they fled from their defences 
and sought shelter in the neighboring thickets. But here 
they were met by the Indians under Olotocara, who drove 
them back upon the French. Death encountered them 
on all sides, and those who survived the conflict were 
reserved for a more especial and more cruel fate. They 
were conducted, with those taken at the smaller forts, to 
the trees on which Melendez had hung the Frenchmen 
under Ribault, and suspended to the same boughs. 
Taking down the inscription of Melendez, De Gorgues 
put another, much more appropriate, in its place, "I do 
this," said the writing, — which was impressed by a sear- 
ing iron upon a pine plank, — "I do this, not to Spaniards, 
nor infidels ; but to traitors, thieves and murderers." 

The victor had sternly carried out his resolution of 
vengeance. He had proved himself as inflexibly just as 
he was merciless, since the victims had been the offend- 
ers, or had so far approved and participated in the crime 
for which they were punished, as to leave us little occa- 
sion for rebuke or regret. It is, perhaps, only by a 
terrible retribution like this, that guilt is taught to pause 
in the career of crime, to doubt its own security, and 
forbear the deed of blood which may waken up such an 
avenger. 

Having set forth on this single puifpose, its completion 
left the generous Gascon little more to do. He had no 
selfish objects of conquest or colonization. The stern 
and undivided desire of his mind was satisfied ; and, 
razing to its foundation the fort which had been the 
theatre of such a sanguinary story, he returned to France 
to receive, not the honors and rewards of its monarch, 

5* 



50 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

but persecution and exile. The court of France refused 
its countenance to his deeds ; and, pursued by the maligr 
nant hostility of Spain, he found a home in Portugal, 
where he was invited into honorable, and, to him, grateful 
service, in the v/ars then waging by that country against 
the Spaniards ; but he died of wounded pride, and a 
painful sense of the ill treatment of his sovereign, ere he 
entered upon foreign service. His memory can not be 
forgotten, and his adventures might well become a story 
of their own. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Thus ended the ill fated expeditions of the French to 
Carolina, and the initial attempt of Coligny to provide, in 
the wildernesses of the new world, a refuge from the 
tyrannies and persecutions of the old. France not only 
disowned the expedition of De Gourgues, but relinquished 
all pretensions to Florida. Spain and Britain preserved 
their claims upon the territory, but the former alone main- 
tained her possession of it. But the massacres which 
De Gourgues had avenged, aroused in Protestant Eng- 
land a feeling of indignation, like that which it had 
awakened in Catholic France. Her eye was drawn to a 
region, of which tales equally bloody and attractive had 
been told. 

Walter Raleigh, then fighting the battles of the Hu- 
guenots under the banners of Coligny, listened with a 
keen ear to the strange narratives which, on every hand, 
he heard of the wild and picturesque regions of Florida. 
From the ideas and feelings thus awakened in his mind, 
we may trace that passion for adventure in the new world, 
which led him to the shores of North Carolina. He ob- 
tained a patent in March, 1584, for such lands as he should 
discover, not in possession of any Christian prince or peo- 
ple, and sent out two ships the month following. They 
reached the shores of the western continent, which salu- 
ted them with a fragrance which was "as if they had been 
in the midst of some delicate garden abounding with ail 



52 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

kinds of odoriferous flowers." They ranged the coast for 
one hundred and twenty miles, in search of a convenient 
harbor, entered the first haven which offered, and landing 
on the island of Wokoken, the southernmost of the islands 
forming the Ocracocke inlet, took solemn possession of 
the country in the name of the Virgin Queen. The crews 
were landed on the 4th day of July ; a day that has since 
been made to distinguish a moral epoch in America. A 
colony was established, and the new continent, for the first 
time, received the English name of North and South Vir- 
ginia. All lands lying towards the St. Lawrence, from 
the northern boundary of the Virginia province, belonged 
to the northern, and all thence to the southward, as far 
as the gidf of Florida, to the southern district. 

The colony of Raleigh failed after a painful but short 
existence of a few years. The settlers disappeared, and 
no traces of their flight was found, and no knowledge of 
their fate has ever become known to the historians. 
They probably sank under the united assaults of famine 
and their Indian neighbors. 

English discovery now became continuous along the 
coasts of the continent. The shores, bays, headlands and 
harbors of New England, were successively discovered, 
and in 1607, under the genius of the celebrated John 
Smith, the first permanent colony of England, in America, 
was planted at James River. 

In 1620 a settlement was effected in New England; 
and ten years after, a grant was made to Sir Robert Heath, 
attorney general of Charles I., of all that region which 
stretches southward of the Virginia coast, from the 36th 
degree of north latitude, comprehending the Louisiana 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 53 

territory on the Mississippi, by the name of Carolana. It 
is said that Sir Robert conveyed his right to the earl of 
Arundel ; that this earl planted several parts of the country, 
and afterwards conveyed his title to Dr. Cox, who was at 
great pains to establish his pretensions, explored a part 
of the country, and subsequently memorialized the crown 
on the subject of his claims. Heath's charter was, 
however, declared void, because of the failure of the 
grantees to comply with certain of its conditions; and 
for thirty years after, the territories of Carolina remained 
unsettled. 

At length, in 1663, Edward, earl of Clarendon, and 
several associates, formed a project for planting a colony 
there. They obtained from Charles 11. , a charter con- 
veying all the lands lying between the 31st and 36th 
degrees of north latitude. The charter states that the 
applicants, " excited by a laudable and pious zeal for the 
propagation of the gospel, beg a certain country in the 
parts of America not yet cultivated and planted, and only 
inhabited by a barbarous people, having no knowledge of 
God." This was the pious pretence of the time, which 
seems, as a matter of course, to have furnished the burden 
of every such prayer. It may be said in this place, that 
the efforts were but few and feebly sustained, to promote 
the professed objects of the memorial. The chartists, be- 
side the earl of Clarendon, were George, duke of Albe- 
marle; William, lord Craven; John, lord Berkley; Antony, 
lord Ashley ; Sir George Carteret, Sir William Berkley, 
and Sir John Colleton. The grant which they obtained, 
comprised a territory of which, subsequently, the several 
states of South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia 



54 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

were composed. Two years after this grant, it was enlar- 
ged by a second, making its boundaries from 29° of north 
latitude, to 36° 40", and from these points on the sea 
coast westward in parallel lines to the Pacific Ocean. 
Of this immense region the king constituted them absolute 
lords and proprietors, reserving to himself, his heirs, and 
successors, the simple sovereignty of the country. He in- 
vested them with all the rights, jurisdiction, royalties, 
privileges and liberties within the bounds of their province, 
to hold, use, and enjoy the same, in as ample a manner 
as the Bishop of Durham did in that county-palatine in 
England. The Bahama islands were subsequently inclu- 
ded in the gift of the monarch. 

Agreeably to these powers, the proprietors proceeded 
to frame a system of laws for the colony which they 
projected. Locke, the well known philosopher, was 
summoned to this work, and the largest expectations were 
entertained in consequence of his co-operation. 

The code of laws called the " Fundamental Constitu- 
tion," which was devised, and which subsequently be- 
came unpopular in the colony, is not certainly the work 
of his hands. It is ascribed by Oldmixin, a contemporary, 
to the earl of Shaftesbury, one of the proprietors. The 
most striking feature in this code, provided for the crea- 
tion of a nobility, consisting of landgraves, cassiques, 
and barons. These were to be graduated by the landed 
estates which were granted with the dignity ; the eldest 
of the proprietary lords was to be the superior, with the 
title of Palatine, and the people were to be serfs. 
Their tenants, and the issue of their tenants, were to be 
transferred with the soil, and not at liberty to leave it. 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 55 

but with the lord's permission, under hand and seal. 
The whole system was rejected after a few years exper- 
iment. It has been harshly judged as the production of 
a sciolous intellect ; but, contemplating the institution 
of domestic slavery, as the proprietors had done from the 
beginning, something may be said in favor of the project. 
Its failure was rather a failure of the proprietary scheme 
of settlement, than of any intrinsic defect in the plan for 
its government. The code contemplated a few wealthy 
noblemen, and a large body of serviles. But the set- 
tlers were generally poor, and the nobility created for the 
occasion, and from the people, was deficient in all those 
marks of hereditary importance, which, in the minds of 
men, are found needful to disguise, if not to justify, the 
inequalites of fortune. The great destitution of the first 
settlers, left them generally without the means of procuring 
slaves ; and the equal necessities to which all are subject 
who peril life and fortune in a savage forest and a foreign 
shore, soon made the titular distinctions of the few a mis- 
erable mockery, or something worse. 

Having devised their plan of government, the proprie- 
tors began to advertise for settlers, though nothing seems 
to have been seriously done towards emigration, till some 
time after. A colony was formed upon the river Albe- 
marle, and another at Cape Fear ; the last of these two 
were conducted from Barbadoes, by John Yeamans, and 
many of these colonists afterwards found their way to the 
settlements on Ashley river. 

In 1667, an exploring ship was fitted out, and the 
command given to William Sayle, who was simply 
commissioned to survey and give some account of the 



56 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

coast. In his passage he was driven by a storm among 
the Bahamas, of which he acquired some useful knowl* 
edge. By his representations of their vahie to Carolina, 
as places of retreat or defence against the Spaniards, 
the proprietors obtained an additional grant of them from 
the king. He sailed along the coast of Carolina, ob- 
served several navigable rivers, and a flat country covered 
with woods. He attempted to go ashore in his boat, but 
was discouraged by the hostile appearance of the savages 
on the banks. His report on his return to England, was 
so favorable as to prompt the energetic action of the 
proprietors. Two ships were put unaer his command ; 
a number of adventurers were embarked, and, well pro- 
vided with utensils for building and cultivation, together 
with arms and munitions of Avar, the little armament 
sailed in January, 1670. Twelve thousand pounds was 
the liberal sum expended on this venture. 

The fame of Port Royal, of which, the name conferred 
by Ribault remained in use among the English, was 
remembered at this time ; and to this river Sayle directed 
his course. He safely reached his port, and proceeded 
with all due diligence to establish himself. The found- 
ations of a town and government were laid at the same 
time. A parliament was composed, and invested with 
legislative power. Already were the laws of Shaftesbury 
and Locke departed from ; and, deeming it impracticable 
at the very outset to execute the model which had been 
given them, they determined to follow it as closely as they 
could. As an encouragement to settle at Port Royal, 
one hundred and fifty acres of land were given, at an easy 
quit-rent, to every emigrant, and clothes and provisions 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 57 

bestowed upon all who could not provide for themselves. 
The neighboring Indians were conciliated by presents, 
and pledges of friendship freely exchanged with their 
cassiques and warriors. Here Sayle died in the midst of 
his labors, having fallen a victim to the climate. This 
event led to the extension of the command of Sir John 
Yeamans, who had hitherto ruled the plantation about 
Cape Fear, over that of Sayle ; and, gathering the plant- 
ers together, " from Clarendon on the north, from Port 
Royal on the south," he resorted, " for the convenience 
of pasturage and tillage," to the banks of Ashley river. 
This removal took place in 1671, and in the same year, 
*' on the first highland," was laid the foundations of that 
settlement which we now distinguish as old Charlestown. 
For some years this became and continued the capital of 
the southern settlements ; but as the commerce of the 
colony increased, the disadvantages of the position were 
discovered. It could not be approached by large vessels 
at low water. In 1680, by a formal command of the 
proprietors, a second removal took place ; and the seat of 
government was transferred to a neck of land called Oys- 
ter Point, admirably conceived for the purposes of com- 
merce, at the confluence of two spacious and deep rivers, 
which, in compliment to lord Shaftesbury, had already 
been called after him, Ashley and Cooper. Here the 
foundation was laid of the present city of Charleston. In 
that year thirty houses were built, though this number 
could have met the wants of but a small portion of the 
colony. The heads of families at the Port Royal settle- 
ment alone, whose names are preserved to us, are forty- 
eight in number ; those brought from Clarendon by Yea- 

6 



58 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

mans, could not have been less numerous ; and the addi- 
tions which they must have had from the mother country, 
during the nine years of their stay at the Ashley river 
settlement, w^ere likely to have been very considerable. 

Roundheads and cavaliers alike sought refuge in Car- 
olina, which, for a long time, remained a pet province 
of the proprietors. Liberty of conscience, which the 
charter professed to guaranty, encouraged emigration. 
The hopes of avarice, the rigor of creditors, the fear of 
punishment and persecution, were equal incentives to the 
settlement of this favored but foreign region. Groups of 
settlers, following favorite leaders — the victims of some 
great calamity, or the enthusiastic, under some general im- 
pulse — were no less frequent than individual emigrants. 

In 1674, when Nova Belgia, now New York, was con- 
quered by the English, a number of the Dutch from that 
place, sought refuge in Carolina. The proprietors facili- 
tated their desire, and provided the ships which conveyed 
them to Charlestown. They were assigned lands on the 
southwest side of Ashley river, drew lots for their prop- 
perty, and founded a town which they called Jamestown, 
but which they afterwards deserted, and spread them- 
selves throughout the country, where they were joined 
by greater numbers from ancient Belgia. 

Two vessels filled with foreign, perhaps French, pro- 
testants, were transported to Carolina, at the expense of 
Charles II., in 1679 ; and the revocation of the edict of 
Nantz, a few years afterwards, by w^hich the Huguenots 
were deprived of the only securities of life, liberty, and 
fortune, which their previous struggles had left them, 
contributed still more largely to the infant settlement, and 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 59 

provided Carolina with some of the noblest portions of 
her growing population. The territory which had been 
soaked with the blood of their countrymen, under Ribault 
and Laudonniere, was endeared to them, probably, on that 
very account ; and they naturally turned their prows to a 
region which so great a sacrifice had so eminently hal- 
lowed to the purposes of their liberty and worship. 

In 1696, a colony of congregationalists, from Dorches- 
ter in Massachusetts, ascended the Ashley river nearly 
to its head, and there founded a town, to which they 
gave the name of that which they had left. Dorchester 
became a town of some importance, having a moderately 
large population, and considerable trade. It is now 
deserted ; the habitations and inhabitants have alike van- 
ished ; but the reverend spire, rising through the forest 
trees which surround it, still attest the place of their wor- 
ship, and where so many of them yet repose. 

Various other countries and causes contributed to the 
growth and population of the new settlement. After the 
restoration, the profligacy of English morals led to con- 
stant commotions between the two still great parties of cav- 
aliers and puritans. The former sought to revenge them- 
selves for the hardships which they had suffered during 
the protectorate. Having obtained the ascendency, they 
retaliated by every means which the partiality of the 
law, or the evil temper of the court towards the puritans, 
would allow. The latter were uniformly encountered 
with contempt, and commonly with injustice, and ardently 
wished for some distant retreat to which they might fly 
and be secure. 



60 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

To prevent open strife between these parties, Charles 
encouraged emigration. Grants of land in Carolina were 
the lures by which the turbulent were beguiled from home ; 
and hundreds of dissenters, with their families, embracing 
the proffer, transported themselves to the infant colony. 
At a later period, the wild, roystering cavaliers, who could 
not be provided from an exhausted treasury in England, 
received grants ; and the spectacle was no less strange 
than grateful, to behold those parties mingling peacefully 
in Carolina, who had seldom met but in deadly hostility 
at home. 

Emigrants followed, though slowly, from Switzerland, 
Germany, and Holland ; and the Santee, the Congaree, the 
Wateree, and Edisto, now listened to the strange voices of 
several nations, who, in the old world, had scarcely known 
each other except as foes. These for a while mingled 
harmoniously with the natives ; — the French Huguenots 
and the German Palatine, smoked their pipes in amity 
with the Westo and the Serattee ; and the tastes and 
habits of the Seine and the Rhine, became familiar to the 
wondering eyes of the fearless warriors along the Conga* 
ree. It was not long before a French violinist had opened 
a school for dancing, among the Indians on the Santee 
river. 



CHAPTER VII. 

The settlers of Carolina, thus accumulated from so 
many, and sometimes hostile European nations, entered 
upon their new enterprise with industry and spirit. 
They seem to have been of a singularly elastic and 
cheerful temper of mind. They could never else have 
withstood and triumphed over the oppressive influences 
of the climate, and the constant strifes of near and numer- 
ous savages. Though comparatively strong in numbers, 
by the frequent accession of emigrants already shewn, 
they were yet feeble in many of those elements of 
national strength, in which the best securities of a people 
are to be found. A common necessity had brought them 
together ; but when the pressure of external dangers 
was withdrawn, it was not found so easy for them to 
harmonize. They were apt to fall apart, revive old dis- 
likes — the result of their several European prejudices 
— and, if they did not join in actual hostility, to pursue 
differing objects and interests, which had all the effect of 
open strife upon the welfare of a small colony. 

Many of them were dependents upon the bounty of 
others ; most of them were poor ; and all of them were 
so placed — -an isolated community in a savage land — as 
to need, for a time at least, the continual and fostering 
providence of foreign patronage. This necessity, of itself, 
led to new weaknesses and much humiliation, from which 
they were only relieved by the withdrawal of the reluctant 

6* 



62 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

bounty upon which they had been too willing to depend. 
This unmanly disposition received its first and becoming 
rebuke from the proprietors, in a letter which announced 
to them their resolution to bestow no more "stock and 
charges upon the idle." " We will not," Avere the words 
of this epistle, " continue to feed and clothe you without 
expectation or demand of any return." 

Thus forced upon their own resources, the Carolinians 
received that first lesson of independence which, perhaps, 
has done much towards giving them that high rank among 
their countrymen of the sister states, which cannot be 
denied them. A sense of mortified pride co-operated 
with their necessities to make them address themselves 
with earnestness to their labors. They proceeded to fell 
the forests and clear their fields, with a hearty resolution, 
which, while it amply atoned for past remissness, as 
sufficiently guaranteed the realization of every future 
good. 

New settlers, in all countries, are subjected to many 
hardships ; but those of Carolina seem to have equalled, 
if they did not surpass, every thing of the kind to which 
men in any age have ever been subjected. To subdue 
the forest to the necessities of civilized man ; to build 
habitations, and clear the ground for raising provisions, 
while it is always the first, would seem also to be the 
sufficient employment of the emigrant. In a low, flat coun- 
try, and under a climate so sultry as that of Carolina, 
the burden of such labors must have been greatly in- 
creased. The Europeans soon sank under the fatigues 
of laboring in the open air ; and those diseases which are 
peculiar to level countries, overflowed with water, and 
subject to the action of a constant burning sun, soon made 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 63 

their appearance among them, to diminish their strength, 
enfeeble their spirits, and lessen their numbers. To 
enhance the evils of such a condition, they were sur- 
rounded by Indian enemies, who were eminently irritable 
and warlike, and daily became more jealous of the en- 
croachments of their white neighbors. 

Carolina is said to have been occupied, at its first set- 
tlement, by no less than twenty-eight Indian nations. 
Their settlements extended from the ocean to the moun- 
tains. The Westos, Stonos, Coosaws, and Sewees, 
occupied the country between Charleston and the Edisto 
river. They were conquered by the Savannahs and 
expelled from the country. The Yemassees and Hus- 
pahs held the territory in the neighborhood of Port 
Royal. The Savannahs, Serannahs, Cussobos, and Eu- 
chees, occupied the middle country, along the Isundiga, 
or Savannah river. The Apalachians inhabited the head 
waters of the Savannah and Altamaha, and gave their 
name to the mountains of Apalachy, and the bay of Apa- 
lachicola. The Muscoghees, or Creeks, occupied the 
south side of Savannah and Broad rivers — the latter 
being, at that time, called the Cherokee — and by this 
river they were divided from the Cherokees, a formidable 
nation, which dwelt upon the territory now included in 
the districts of Pickens, Anderson, and Greenville The 
Congarees, Santees, Waterees, Saludahs, Catawbas, Pe- 
dees, and Winyaws, lived along the rivers which bear their 
names. The Chickasaws and Choctaws dwelt, or roved, 
westward from the borders of Carolina, to the banks of 
the Mississippi. To speak in more correct language, 
the greater numbers of these people constituted tribes, 



64 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

rather than nations, and belonged to a few mighty fami- 
lies which dwelt permanently in the interior. They 
were tributaries of one or other of the several nations 
of Muscoghees, Cherokees, Catawbas, Choctaws, and 
Chickasaws, among which the territory of the Carolinas 
was divided, and perhaps frequently disputed. These 
Indians, united, could probably bring fifty thousand men 
into the field. The Muscoghees and Catawbas were the 
most warlike ; the Cherokees were as numerous as 
either, but not esteemed so brave. The Choctaws and 
Chickasaws seem to have been less stationary than these 
tribes, and most probably resembled those roving bands 
of the west, who drew their stakes and changed their 
habitations with the progress of the seasons. 

To the infant colony of Carolina, these nations, or the 
tributary tribes which owned their sway, suggested con- 
stant alarm and danger. The Westo and Stono tribes, 
as they were most contiguous, seem to have been the 
most troublesome. Their assaults were doubly danger- 
ous and annoying, as it was found so difficult to provide 
against them. The superiority of the musket over the 
bow and arrow was very small. Concealed in the 
thicket in which he has almost grown a part and is a 
native, the Indian launches his shaft ere the European 
has dreamed of the presence of an enemy. Its leaves 
hide him from the aim, and its mighty trees effectually 
shield him from the bullet which the angry stranger 
sends in reply. He ranges the woods in safety while 
the invader sleeps ; and the swamps, in the atmosphere 
of which European life stagnates and perishes, yield a 
congenial element to him. Thus circumstanced in con- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 65 

nection with their Indian neighbors, the Carolinians 
were compelled to stand in a continual posture of de- 
fence. While one party slept, an equal number watched. 
He who felled the tree of the forest, was protected by 
another who stood ready with his musket in the shade ; 
and so persevering were these stealthy enemies, that 
the settler dared not discard his weapon, even while 
gathering the oyster on the shores of the sea. From the 
woods they were almost wholly exiled, by reason of the 
swarms of foes which infested them; and, but for the 
fish from the rivers, they must have perished of famine. 
Their scanty crops were raised, not only by the sweat 
of their brows, but at the peril of their lives ; and when 
raised, were exposed to the plundering assaults of the 
foe. A single night frequently lost to the planter the 
dearly bought products of a year of toil. 

It is no easy matter to describe the dreadful extremi- 
ties to which the Carolinians were at last reduced ; and 
a civil disturbance was the consequence, which threat- 
ened the ruin of the colony. Robbed of the slender 
stock of grain which their fields had produced, and fail- 
ing to receive supplies from Europe, they were ready for 
any measure to which the phrensy of despair might 
prompt them. 

Where a people are discontented, there will not be 
long wanting some unruly spirit to take advantage of their 
sufferings, and stimulate their sedition ; and one Florence 
O'SuUivan, to whom the island at the entrance of the 
harbor which now bears his name had been entrusted 
for defence, deserting his post, joined the discontents of 
the town ; and the popular fury might have expended 



66 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

itself in violence and bloodshed, but for the prudence 
and firmness of Sir John Yeamans, the sfovernor. 

O'Sullivan was arrested on charges of sedition, and the 
people were quieted, while vessels were despatched for 
supplies to Barbadoes and Virginia. A timely arrival 
from England, bringing provisions and a number of new 
settlers, revived the spirits of the people, and cheered 
them to renewed efforts. Yeamans, sensible of their 
hardships, readily forgave their commotions ; but Cul- 
pepper, the surveyor-general, who had stimulated their 
excesses — a man afterwards prominent in an insurrection 
in North Carolina — was sent to Enoiand to be tried for 
treasonable conspiracies against the settlement. 

While these events were in progress, a new enemy 
started up to add to the many dangers and annoyances of 
the Carolinians. The Spaniards at St. Augustine had long 
regarded the settlement of the English at Ashley river, 
as an encroachment upon the dominions of their monarch. 
Perhaps they remembered the ancient conflicts between 
Ribault, Laudonniere, and Melendez, for supremacy in 
the same neighborhood ; and, as if the massacres which 
they had caused and suffered, had confirmed the right to 
the soil which they founded upon the discoveries of De 
Leon and De Soto, they watched the colony of the English 
with a keen disquiet, proportioned to their hostility. 
Havinor obtained a knowledge of the miserable condition 
of the Carolinians, and the disaffection which prevailed 
among them, they advanced with a well armed party to 
dislodge and destroy the settlers. They reached Saint 
Helena, where they were joined by one Brian Fitzpatrick, 
a worthless traitor, who had deserted the colony in the 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 67 

moment of its greatest distress, and who now exposed its 
weaknesses to the invaders. The Spaniards continued 
to advance under his guidance ; but, in the meantime, the 
vessel bringing supplies of men and munitions of war, 
fortunately arrived in Ashley river. 

This reinforcement enabled the governor to assume the 
offensive. He despatched fifty volunteers, under colonel 
Godfrey, to meet the invaders ; but the Spaniards did not 
await his attack. They fled at his approach, evacuating 
St. Helena island, of which they had full possession, and 
retreated with all haste to Augustine. This attempt of 
the Spaniards, though conducted with little spirit, and 
distinguished by no combat, was the prelude to a long 
succession of conflicts between the two colonies, result- 
ing in mutual invasion, and unprofitable and unnecessary 
loss of blood and treasure. 

To conciliate the Indian tribes, and escape from that 
harrassing and constant warfare which they had waged 
upon the colony from the beginning, was now the chief 
object of governor Yeamans. But one circumstance, at 
this time, contributed more than any thing beside to the 
peace of the settlement. The Westos, who had always 
harbored the most unconquerable aversion to the whites, 
and who were doubly dangerous from their near neigh- 
borhood, were suddenly invaded by the Serannas, a 
pov/erful tribe living on the Isundiga river. A war fol- 
lowed between them, which was waged with so fatal a 
fury, as to end in the almost complete annihilation of both. 
The Carolinians, without doubt, as a matter of policy, 
encouraged the hostile fury of the combatants ; at all 
events, they found security from its continuance, and 
were finally rid of two fierce neighbors when it ended. 



68 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

About the year 1674, Sir John Yeamans left the colony 
and went to Barbadoes, where he died. By one historian, 
his labors for the success of the settlement are spoken of 
as indefatigable. By another, he is described as insolent, 
unjust, and tyrannical. He was succeeded by Joseph 
West, as governor, and under his rule the freemen of 
the colony were called together at Charlestown for the 
purpose of making laws for their government. The up- 
per and lower house of assembly was formed, and with 
the governor as its head, took the name of parliament, 
agreeable to the fundamental constitutions. This was 
the first parliament in the colony that passed acts of 
which the proprietors approved, and which are on record 
in the colony. It might have been expected that this 
parliament, composed of men embarked in the same 
vessel, and having a common interest, would be partic- 
ularly zealous to maintain harmony and a friendly 
understanding among themselves. They had the same 
interests to promote and the same enemies to fear. Un- 
happily such was not the case. The most numerous 
party in the country, were dissenters of various denom- 
inations from the established church of England. Affect- 
ing always a superior sanctity, these people have been 
seldom found the most docile and subordinate members 
of the community. A large share of self-esteem distin- 
guished their intellectual organization, and occasioned 
constant discontents with the existing authorities, and a 
restless impatience of control. The cavaliers, who had 
also received grants in Carolina, were regarded by the 
proprietors, who were chiefly noblemen, with a more 
favoring eye. Though lively, impetuous, and given to 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 69 

excesses of various kinds, a taste for which had been 
engendered by the civil wars in the time of the first 
Charles and the Protectorate, they were yet regarded as 
men of loyality, honor and fidelity. The puritans, who 
remembered them only as deadly enemies in England, 
were vexed to see them lifted into places of honor in 
Carolina. The odious terms and ungracious epithets of 
the old world, were soon revived in the new, among both 
parties; and, but for the prudence of governor West, 
who in the business of legislation studiously discouraged 
every discussion of religious subjects, the bitter fruits of 
such dislikes and differences would have been renewed 
in a region, to the government of which the utmost tole- 
rance had been decreed by the proprietors, from the 
beginning of their enterprize. 

The differing manners and habits of the colonists, fur- 
nished another cause for the absence of harmony among 
them. The puritans were a sober, inflexible, morose peo- 
ple ; hostile to amusements, without carefully discrimina- 
ting between them — rigid in form — resolute to make no 
concessions, and tenacious to the last degree of those lev- 
eling opinions, which were held in particular dislike by 
the cavaliers. They denounced the vices and debaucheries 
of the latter, censured their freedom of deportment, their 
ill-timed levities ; and, exasperated by their licentiousness 
and unconcealed scorn of themselves, labored with equal 
industry and malevolence to keep them out of power, and 
abridge their influence and authority. 

The cavaliers were not less active in their hostility, 
nor less careful to display their dislike. They ridiculed 
the puritans with a wit as reckless as it was unsparing, 

7 



70 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

and employed all their influence in exposing them to 
public derision and contempt. Their contentious disposi- 
tions and leveling notions, were denounced as deserving 
of the abhorrence of all men of honor — as having served to 
produce in England that race of sly, deceitful, and hypo- 
critical wretches, which had been the scourge of the 
nation. This war increased the animosity of both parties 
daily, and though the governor endeavored to arrest its 
progress and subdue its virulence, the pernicious effects 
were soon perceptible in the difficulty that arose in framing 
laws, distributing justice, and maintaining public tranquil- 
ity. His council being composed entirely of cavaliers, 
was a check upon his own ability. In spite of his 
authority, the puritans were treated with neglect and 
injustice ; and the colony, distracted with domestic evils, 
not only failed to make that progress in fortune which its 
natural advantages promised, but became ill prepared to 
protect itself against those enemies which threatened it 
from without. 

The Stonos, at this unfavorable juncture, appeared 
along the settlements, and in detached bodies assailed the 
plantations, from which they carried the grain as soon as 
it ripened. The savages every where have deemed it 
the less laborious policy to rob the civilized, than to 
encounter the labor and risk of planting for themselves. 
The stock of the Carolinians shared the fate of their 
grain crops, and the apprehensions of famine from which 
they suffered in the time of Yeamans, were renewed under 
the government of West. That gentleman, however, em- 
ployed a new branch of policy in revenging and repairing 
the suff'erings of his people. The planters were armed 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 71 

in defence of their possessions, and in the war that 
ensued, which was waged by the Stonos with singular 
hate and perseverance, it was found necessary to fix a 
price upon every Indian brought in as a captive. The 
savages thus taken, were shipped to the West Indies and 
sold as slaves. This mode of getting rid of cruel and 
treacherous enemies, however justified by ancientpractice, 
has been deemed more barbarous than taking their lives. 
On this head, there will be a difference of opinion so long 
as the standards of humanity vary in various climates. 

The planters of that day, did not even see the necessity 
of vindicating themselves against such a charge, and their 
descendants seem to have grown up in the same faith. 
Without discussing the propriety of this course of conduct, 
it may be enough to say, that it was attended with the 
desired results. The Stonos were defeated after a long 
and obstinate conflict. Their name alone remains to 
distinguish the site of their former habitations. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

A parliament was held in Charlestown at the close of 
1682, when laws were enacted for establishing a militia 
system ; for making high roads through the forest ; for 
repressing drunkenness and profanity ; and for otherwise 
promoting a proper morality among the people. In the 
year following, governor West was removed from office, 
and Joseph Moreton, who had just before been created a 
landgrave of Carolina, succeeded to his place. West 
had displeased the proprietaries, by introducing the traf- 
fic in Indians — a traffic which, because of its profitable 
results, seemed likely to be perpetuated among the plan- 
ters; — and by curbing the excesses of the cavaliers, who 
formed the proprietary party, in opposition to the less 
loyal, or more turbulent members of the puritan faction. 
With his removal commenced a course of rapid changes 
in the government of the colony. Two parties arose, 
the general direction of whose principles undoubtedly 
came from the social and religious bias which they had 
each received from their conflicting relations in England. 
One of these endeavoured to maintain the prerogative 
and authority of the proprietaries ; the other contended 
for the rights and liberties of the people. The cavaliers, 
or court party, insisted upon implicit obedience to the 
laws received from England; the puritans contended, 
and with perfect justice, for the right to adapt their laws 
to the existing circumstances of their condition. In this 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 73 

State of things, no set of officers could maintain their 
places long. In the short space of four years, from 
1682 to 1686, there were no less than five governors: 
Moreton succeeding West; West again displacing More- 
ton ; and being followed in turn by Sir Richard Kyrle, 
Robert Quarry, and James Colleton, 

Moreton assembled a parliament, which established a 
variety of regulations, some of which were displeasing 
to the proprietaries. It enacted a law for raising the 
value of foreign coins, by which the currency of Caro- 
lina was first regulated ; and suspended all prosecutions 
for foreign debts ; a measure which was negatived by the 
proprietaries, whose own interests might have suffered 
from such an enactment ; and which they declared con- 
trary to the king's honor, as obstructing the proper course 
of justice. 

Another cause of dispute between the proprietors and 
the people, arose from the manner in which the par- 
liament was constituted. The province, at this time, 
was divided into the three counties of Berkeley, Cra- 
ven, and Colleton. Berkeley filled the space around the 
the capital ; Craven (including the district lately called 
Clarendon) lay to the northward ; and Colleton con- 
tained Port Royal and the islands in its vicinity, to the 
distance of thirty miles. Of the twenty members, of 
whom the parliament was to be composed, the proprie- 
taries desired that ten should be elected by each of the 
counties of Berkeley and Colleton. Craven was deem- 
ed too inconsiderable to merit any representation. — 
Berkeley, which contained the metropolis, was the only 
county which, as yet, possessed a county court ; and the 

7* 



74 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

provincial government having appointed the election to 
be held at Charlestown, the inhabitants, by reason of 
their greater numbers, succeeded in excluding Colleton 
from all representation, and in returning the whole twenty 
members. This enraged the proprietors, who dissolved 
the parliament ; but without effecting any present rem- 
edy against the injustice of numbers. Governor More- 
ton, harrassed by the strifes among the people, resigned 
his office. His authority was conferred on West, whose 
policy, favoring the traffic in Indians, rendered him a 
very popular person among the colonists. Sir Richard 
Kyrle, an Irishman, was then entrusted with the govern- 
ment, by the proprietaries ; but he died soon after his 
arrival in the province. West, thereupon, was again 
chosen, but was soon superseded by Colonel Quarry, who 
kept the capricious station but a year. He was found, 
or suspected, to have afforded some countenance to pira- 
cy ; was removed in consequence, and the landgrave 
Moreton once more reinstated in the crovernment. 

In the offence imputed to Quarry, the community had 
its share. Indeed, it was one of the excesses of the 
time, a seeming sanction for which was to be found in 
particular circumstances. Pirates were licensed by 
Great Britain, to cruise against the Spanish fleets in the 
American waters ; there being, in the phrase of the day, 
' no peace beyond the line.' The king of England had 
even conferred the honors of knighthood upon one of the 
worst villains of the class. The enormities committed 
by the Spaniards in all quarters of the new world, and 
upon all people, Christian and savage, seemed, in the 
eyes of other nations, to justify a corresponding treatment 



'the history of south CAROLINA. 75 

of themselves in turn. But the pirates did not confine 
themselves to Spanish vessels ; else it is probable that 
that they might still have pursued their excesses with im- 
punity in the waters of Carolina. There, the ports were 
freely opened to them, provisions supplied, and they 
were received as the favored guests of the planters. 
The hostility entertained by these reckless rovers against 
the Spaniards, the mortal foes of the Carolinians, was, 
perhaps, the true reason of the countenance which they 
found among the latter. It suggests the only reason which 
may serve, in some respect, to justify the colonists for 
the favor which they showed them. The governor, the 
proprietary deputies, and the principal inhabitants, are 
said to have equally stained themselves with this unbe- 
coming intercourse ; and the obloquy which they thus 
incurred, was only obliterated in the manly warfare in 
which they subsequently drove them from their waters. 
Their feebleness may have made them sanction the 
presence of those whom they did not dare to offend ; and 
the fact that the pirates chiefly warred against their in- 
veterate enemies, the Spaniards, constituted them, in one 
respect, worthy allies, whom it was their policy to en- 
courage. 

It is certain, in support of this view of the subject, 
that the Spaniards themselves regarded in this light, the 
countenance which the Carolinians showed the pirates. 
They beheld the enemies who had infested their shores, 
and destroyed their shipping, sheltered and received as 
friends in Ashley river ; and if no such policy influenced 
the Carolinians, they were at least required to atone, as 
allies, for the excesses of those whom they received 
with the kindness due to allies only. 



76 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Other circumstances contributed to this conviction, and 
strengthened the hostility of the people of Augustine. 
They had always beheld the settlements of the Eng- 
lish with jealousy, and the establishment of a new 
colony, under lord Cardross, a Scotch nobleman, at Port 
Royal, served to renew the ancient grudge, and furnished 
a new provocation to hostility. They invaded the south- 
ern frontiers of the colony, and descended suddenly 
upon the Scotch at Port Royal, whom they expelled. 
Laying the settlements waste as they went, they as sud- 
denly retired, ere men could be mustered to encounter 
them, or resent the inroad. The spirit of the Caroli- 
nians, whom continued wars had made a martial people, 
was at once aroused by this aggression, and they resol- 
ved, with one mind, to carry their arms into the enemy's 
territory. An expedition was determined upon, and pre- 
parations begun for an invasion of Florida. But the 
proprietaries hastened to arrest this purpose. They suc- 
ceeded for the time ; but the angry feelings which were 
brought into activity on this occasion, were never suffer- 
ed entirely to sleep ; and they found their utterance but 
a few seasons after this event, when, under the govern- 
ment of a man fond of warlike enterprizes, the colonists 
prepared to " feed fat the ancient grudge" which they 
bore against their hereditary foes. 

James Colleton, a landgrave of Carolina, and brother 
of one of the lords proprietors, succeeded to Moreton. 
For a time his administration gave universal satisfaction ; 
but an endeavor to carry out his instructions, renewed 
the old conflicts between the people and their lords, in 
all their original virulence and vigor. The progress of 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 77 

discontent in the colony soon assumed a mutinous aspect, 
and the first leading measure of the new governor, re- 
sulted in the utter forfeiture of his power. He endeav- 
ored to make the people pay up their quit-rents, which 
had been suffered to accumulate, without liquidation, for 
several years. The amount was trifling ; but other feel- 
ings than those of interest, mingled in with the consider- 
ation of the subject. It was the display of authority, at 
a time when that authority was already under censure 
for trespasses upon the public liberties ; and, taught in 
the severe school of self-succour and self-providence, 
from the beginning, the great body of the Carolinians 
were disposed to resistance. This spirit became more 
turbulent with every show of rigor on the part of the in- 
discreet landgrave ; riots and commotions succeeded ; 
the parliament was assembled, and in 1690, the contest 
brought to an issue, which resulted in the partial triumph 
of the people, the formal deposition of the governor, 
and his solemn banishment beyond the limits of the 
province. 

The government was then usurped by one Seth Sothel, 
a factious person, who had been driven from the Albe- 
marle settlement. Availing himself of the general hos- 
tility to Colleton, he found but little difficulty in securing 
the favor of the Carolinians in the first moments of their 
anger. He claimed the government in the double right 
of a proprietor himself, and a champion of the popular 
liberties. But his pretences were soon set aside, and 
the excessive tyranny of his mis-rule effectually rebuked 
and punished the folly of those who so readily yielded 
to his arguments. He is said to have trampled under 



78 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



foot every restraint of equity and the laws ; to have been 
as much without moderation as justice ; and to have 
ruknl the colonists with a rod of iron, far more heavy 
than that of Colleton. His whole course was one of 
rapine, and his coffers were tilled by every species of 
plunder and exaction. The fair traders from Barbadoes 
and Bermuda, were seized by his orders, under pretended 
charges of piracy, and either incurred a forfeiture of their 
goods, or were compelled to purchase their ransom from 
prison by enormous lines. Felons bought themselves 
free iVoin justice by heavy bribes, and the property of 
individuals was seized and conliscated on the most friv- 
olous pretences. Fortunately, the career of Sothel was 
short. Proprietaries and people alike joined in his ex- 
pulsion ; and, pursued by the laws which he had offended, 
and the hate which he had provoked, he soon followed 
Colleton into banishment. 

Philip Ludwell was now sent out by the proprietaries, 
to fdl the vacated chair of the governor. He was ac- 
companied by Sir Nathaniel Johnson, who had been 
governor of the leeward islands, and who, having deter- 
mined to retire to Carolina, Avas appointed a cassique of 
the province, and a member of council. Ludwell, who 
was a man of sense and humanity, commenced his ad- 
ministration in a manner that appeared to promise well 
for its continuance ; but this promising appearance was 
of short duration. There was a continual warfare going 
on between the supposed interests of the proprietors and 
people ; and the measures of any governor or council, 
supposed to be favorably inclined to the one, were sure to 
give offence to, and excite the jealous opposition of the 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 79 

Other party. Ludwell had been instructed by the propri- 
etaries to admit the French Huguenots, settled in Cra- 
ven county, to the same political privileges with the Eng- 
lish colonists. Unhappily, these elder colonists were 
far from regarding their new associates with good will 
or friendly feeling. The number of the strangers, and 
the wealth which was possessed by some among them, 
excited their personal jealousies, and these soon awa- 
kened all the ancient antipathies of the nation. When 
Ludwell proposed to admit the refugees to a participa- 
tion in the privileges of the other planters, the English 
refused to acquiesce. They insisted that it was contrary 
to the laws of England ; that no power but that of the 
British parliament could dispense with the legal disabil- 
ity of aliens to purchase lands within the empire, incor- 
porate them into the British community, or make them 
partakers of the rights of native-born Englishmen. — 
They even maintained that the marriages of the refugees, 
performed by their own clergymen, were unlawful, as 
not being celebrated by men who had obtained Episcopal 
ordination. For themselves, they declared a determina- 
tion not to sit in the same assembly with the hereditary 
rivals of their nation ; or of receiving laws from those 
who were the pupils of a system of slavery and arbitra- 
ry government. The unfortunate refugees, alarmed at 
these resolutions, turned to the proprietaries to confirm 
their assurances. 

Ludwell was compelled to suspend the contemplated 
measure until he could hear from Europe ; and in the 
meantime, Craven county, in which the French refugees 
lived, was not allowed a single representative in the pro- 



80 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

vincial parliament. To the application of these unfortu- 
nate and truly noble exiles, from whom we derive many 
of the first families of our state, and some of the first 
names of our republic, the proprietaries returned an in- 
decisive but a friendly answer. They continued in a 
state of the most painful solicitude, and an entire priva- 
tion of their rights for several years after, when their 
patient and humane behavior prevailed equally over the 
political and personal antipathies of the English. Their 
former adversaries, won over by their praiseworthy gen- 
tleness of demeanour, advocated the pretensions they 
had hitherto opposed ; and a law of naturalization was 
at length passed in favor of the aliens. But the dispute 
that had arisen in the province on this subject, was pro- 
ductive of excessive irritation against Ludwell, which 
was farther increased by his decisive proceedings against 
the pirates. The arrival of a crew of these wretches in 
Charlestown, where, relying on ancient privileges, they 
still hoped to be secure, afforded him an opportunity to 
endeavour, by the infliction of a tardy justice, to relieve 
the colony of some of the obloquy which rested upon its 
name. He apprehended the marauders, and brought 
them to trial for their crimes. The people exclaimed 
against this proceeding, and interested themselves so 
effectually, that the criminals were not only acquitted, 
but the government was even compelled to grant them an 
indemnity. It was not till twenty years had elapsed, and 
a hecatomb of victims had been offered up to the laws 
which they had offended, that Carolina was at length 
fairly freed from these wretches, and the stain of their 
communion washed from her hands and garments. — 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 81 

Farther conflicts followed between the people and their 
rulers, in which Ludwell seemed to yield to the wishes 
of the former. This awakened the anxieties of the pro- 
prietaries, who at length deprived him of his office, and 
conferred it, with the dignity of landgrave, upon Thomas 
Smith. 

The administration of Smith, if more peaceable, was 
not more successful than that of his predecessor. A 
popular man — wealthy — himself a planter, and long a res- 
ident among the people, he commenced his government 
with the most favorable auspices ; but the province still 
remained in a confused and turbulent condition. Discon- 
tent prevailed in the land ; and, in utter despair at last, 
he wrote to the proprietors, praying to be released from 
a charge which brought him nothing but annoyance, and 
in which he could hope to do no good. He declared in 
his letter, that he despaired ever to unite the people in 
affection and interest ; and that, weary of the perpetual 
warfare among them, he, and many others, Avere resolved 
upon leaAdng the province, unless they sent out one of 
their own number, with full power to redress grievances, 
and amend the laws. Nothing else, it was his convic- 
tion, would bring the settlers to a condition of tranquilit}^ 

The proprietors adopted the suggestion of Smith, and 
he was succeeded by John Archdale, a Quaker, and one 
of their number. The fundamental constitutions were 
surrendered to the dislike of the people, and were for- 
mally abolished after an experiment of twenty-three 
years had shown them to be utterly impracticable in the 
condition of the colony. The government of the people 
was now severed from the powers conferred by the char- 

8 



82 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

ter. Archdale entered upon his work, therefore, with 
a judgment entirely untrammeled. His administration 
seems to have been a wise one. It was not distinguish- 
ed by any incident of importance ; it was peaceable, and 
received, as it merited, at its termination, the thanks of 
the colony, for the first time given to any of its gover- 
nors. He improved the militia system, opened friendly 
communications with the Indians and Spaniards, dis- 
couraged the inhumanities of the former so effectually, 
as to induce them utterly to renounce the inhuman prac- 
tice of plundering shipwrecked vessels, and murdering 
their crews ; and combined, with singular felicity, the 
firm requisites of the governor, with the gentle and sim- 
ple benevolence of the Quaker. " Yet," says the histo- 
rian Grahame, "how inferior the worldly renown of 
Archdale, the instrument of so much good, to the more 
cherished fame of his less efficient and far less disinter- 
ested contemporary and fellow sectary, William Penn !" 
It may be added that, for the first time, during his ad- 
ministration a regular administration of the ordinances of 
religion was introduced among the English of the colo- 
ny. The Huguenots brought with them their holy men ; 
and hence, perhaps, the more gentle habits, and the wise 
forbearance, which distinguished their conduct towards 
their opponents, in the long strifes and bitter enmities 
which encountered their claims to an equal participation 
of the few pleasant fruits of exile. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Among other extraordinary privileges, the power had 
been granted to Archdale of appointing his successor in 
office. He chose Joseph Blake, a nephew of the cele- 
brated British admiral, a man of great prudence and popu- 
larity. Blake governed the colony wisely and happily. 
Shortly after his elevation to office, a new code of funda- 
mental constitutions was transmitted to Carolina, from the 
proprietors ; but this code commanded far less considera- 
tion than the last. It does not seem to have been even 
recognized by the provincial assembly. Blake's admin- 
istration, which lasted from 1696 to his death, in 1700, 
was a season of political calm. Yet it was only in 
consequence of a succession of calamities, that the strifes 
of party were suspended. The pirates, whom a more 
severe application of the laws had driven from their old 
haunts in Carolina, now, in 1696, turned their arms 
atrainst the settlement, and harassed its commerce. — 
Several ships belonging to Charlestown, were taken by 
them as they left the port ; the crews sent on shore, and 
the vessels kept as prizes. During the autumn of the 
same year, a dreadful hurricane inundated the town, and 
threatened its destruction. The swollen sea was driven 
in upon the shores with such impetuosity, that several per- 
sons were overtaken by the waves and drowned. Much 
property and many lives were swallowed up by the ocean. 
This inundation was followed by a fire, which nearly re- 



84 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

duced the town to ashes. The small pox succeeded this 
last disaster, and spread death and desolation through 
the colony. Professional ignorance proved no less fatal 
than the disease. Scarcely had the colonists begun to 
breathe from these evils, when a pestilence broke out 
among them, and swept off, among numerous other vic- 
tims, nearly all of the public officers, and one half of 
the legislature. Few families escaped a share in these 
calamities. Despair sat upon every countenance, and 
many among the survivors began to think of abandoning 
a colony which Providence had seemed to distinguish by 
every sort of calamity. 

But even these afflictions did not quiet the turbulence 
of party. The Carolinians appeared to possess a stub- 
born energy of character, which soon prompted a for- 
getfulness of sorrow, and the causes of sorrow. The 
political strifes of the colony were soon renewed. The 
old conflicts between the people and the proprietors, on the 
subject of their respective rights, were revived with all 
the ancient acrimony ; and the acquisition of Nicholas 
Trott, a lawyer and an able man, by the party of the 
former, contributed to their audacity, in a degree corres- 
ponding to the addition which he had given to their 
strength. It is not necessary that we should dwell upon 
the thousand little causes of provocation on the one 
hand or the other, which helped hourly to widen the 
breach between the parties. There was a native inco- 
herency in the union of their fortunes — a mutual dis- 
trust, arising from a real or supposed difference of inter- 
ests ; and the proprietary lords were soon taught a les- 
son, which was afterwards bestowed in like manner 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 85 

upon their monarch, that a people, removed three thou- 
sand miles from the presence of their rulers, can neither 
be protected by their care, nor enfeebled by their exac- 
tions. 

With the administration of Blake, who dieA in the 
year 1700, ended the short term of tranquility which 
had originated with Archdale's government. He was 
succeeded by James Moore, a man of considerable talent 
and military enterprise, ambitious in a high degree, and 
an industrious seeker after popularity. He renewed the 
traffic in Indians, begim in the time of West, and pre- 
pared to avenge upon the Spaniards at St. Augustine, 
the frequent attacks which they had made upon the Car- 
olinians. A rupture between England and Spain at this 
time, made that a legitimate enterprise, which, a few 
years before, had been arrested by the proprietors as 
wholly unjustifiable. Moore checked the domestic quar- 
rels of the Carolinians, by the suggestion of this favorite 
expedition. Florida, he assured the people, would be 
an easy conquest. Her treasures of gold and silver were 
proposed as the rewards of valor. The wrongs which they 
had sustained from the Spaniards, were such as, when 
dwelt upon, were sufficient to warm them to the desire 
of vengeance. His eloquence was successful, as well in 
the assembly as among the people. His proposition 
was adopted by a great majority and in spite of the ear- 
nest opposition of a prudent few, who could not be de- 
ceived by the brilliant picture of success which had 
been held up to the imaginations of all. Two thousand 
pounds sterling were voted for the service ; six hundred 
provincial militia raised, out of a population of about 

8* 



86 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

seven thousand persons ; an equal number of Indians 
were incorporated with the Carolinians ; schooners and 
merchant vessels were impressed as transports to carry 
the forces ; and, in the month of September, 1702, gov- 
ernor Moore sailed from Port Royal, the place appointed 
for the rendezvous, upon an enterprise conceived in rash- 
ness and conducted without caution. The Spaniards 
were suffered to know all that was going on, and were 
preparing for defence with quite as much industry as 
their foes were preparing for attack. They had laid up 
four months provisions in the castle, which was also 
strongly fortified, and had sent timely despatches to 
the West India islands for the succor of the Spanish 
fleets. Colonel Daniel, a Carolinian officer of great 
spirit, with a party of militia and Indians, made a de- 
scent upon the town of St. Augustine by land, while the 
commander-in-chief pursued his way by sea. His ar- 
rangements were made with equal secrecy and prompti- 
tude ; and he attacked, took the town and plundered it, 
before the fleet of Moore appeared in sight. Upon 
Moore's arrival, the castle was closely invested, but 
without success. The cannon of the invaders made no 
impression, and colonel Daniel was despatched in a 
sloop to Jamaica, for supplies of bombs and mortars of 
the necessary calibre. But, during his absence, the 
Spanish fleet appeared at the mouth of the harbor, and 
governor Moore was compelled to raise the siege. Aban- 
doning his ships, he retreated by land to Charlestown, 
having, according to the historians, fled with a rapidity 
as unbecoming as his rashness had been unwise and im- 
provident. Daniel, on his return, to his great surprise 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 87 

found the siege raised, and narrowly escaped being made 
captive by the enemy. This fruitless expedition entailed 
a debt of six thousand pounds upon the colony. 

Notwithstanding the unhappy result of his first milita- 
ry enterprise, Moore, fond of warlike exploits, soon re- 
solved upon another. The Apalachian Indians, who had 
been stimulated by the Spaniards to hostilities against 
the colony, now commanded his attention. Determined 
to chastise them, he raised a force of Carolinians and 
Indians, and. penetrated into the very heart of their set- 
tlements. Wherever he went he carried fire and sword, 
and struck a salutary terror into the hearts of the sava- 
ges. The Apalachian towns between the Savannah and 
Altamaha, were laid in ashes, the country ravaged, the 
people made captives, eight hundred of them slain, and 
the most hidden settlements of the enemy laid open to 
the devastation which followed at his heels. This exhi- 
bition of power was productive of immense moral good 
to the Carolinians in that quarter. It taught the sava- 
ges a new lesson of respect for their arms, and prepared 
the way for the English settlements that were afterwards 
planted along those rivers. The benefit was almost 
equally great to the commander of the expedition. His 
courage and conduct removed the discredit which his pre- 
vious rashness had incurred, and he received the thanks 
of the proprietors and the people, for the important con- 
quests which he had made. Apalachia, the country thus 
won by the arms of Carolina, became afterwards, succes- 
sively, the colony and state of Georgia. 

Moore was succeeded in the government by Sir Na- 
thaniel Johnson. This orentleman had been a soldier from 



88 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

his youth. He had also been a member of the House of 
Commons in England. He was therefore esteemed to 
be well qualified for his trust. So, in some respects, he 
was ; but he was at the same time strongly opposed to 
the dissenting party, and a docile agent of lord Granville, 
then the lord palatine of Carolina, whose hostility to the 
same class of religionists was equally bitter and invet- 
erate. Under the instructions of this nobleman, gov- 
ernor Johnson, by a variety of measures, succeeded 
in establishing ecclesiastical worship and government 
in the colony. He enacted two laws, by one of which 
the dissenters were deprived of all civil rights. By 
the other, he erected an arbitrary court of high com- 
mission, for the trial of ecclesiastical causes, and the 
preservation of religious uniformity in Carolina. These 
laws drove the dissenters to desperation. They sent a 
special messenger to London, and their petition for re- 
dress was laid before the House of Lords, who were 
filled with surprise and indignation at the high handed 
despotism of the proprietors. The queen, (Anne,) by 
recommendation of the lords, issued an order, declaring 
the laws complained of to be null and void ; and promised 
to institute a process of quo warranto against the provin- 
cial charter ; but this promise was never fulfilled. An 
idea of the impolitic assumptions of the bigoted pala- 
tine may be formed, by a reference to the opinion which 
the House of Lords expressed, in their address to 
the queen. The law for enforcing conformity to the 
church of England, in the colony, they describe " an en- 
couragement to atheism and irreligion, destructive to 
trade, and tending to the ruin and depopulation of the 
province." 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 89 

It was in the year 1706, that the intolerant policy 
of lord Granville received this check ; and from that 
period the dissenters were permitted to enjoy, not, in- 
deed, the equality which they had been encouraged to 
expect, but simple toleration. In the year following, an 
act of assembly was passed in South Carolina, for estab- 
lishing religious worship according to the forms of the 
church of England. The province was divided into ten 
parishes, and provision made for building a church in 
each, and for the endowment of its minister. Before 
this period, neither the proprietors nor the people seem 
to have done much, if any thing, worthy of notice, in 
behalf either of education or religion among themselves. 
On behalf of the Indians, the moral and religious improve- 
ment of whom was the pious pretext for the establishment 
of the colony at first, nothing was attempted. The only 
European instructions that the savages received, were 
communicated by a French dancing master, who ac- 
quired a large estate by teaching them to dance and play 
on the flute. 

The minds of the Carolinians were somewhat diverted 
from their domestic, by the approach of foreign troubles. 
A war, at this time waging between the great European 
powers of England, France, and Spain, necessarily in- 
volved the fortunes and interests of their separate colo- 
nies. A plan was set on foot, by the joint forces of 
France and Spain, to invade Charlestown, and the Caro- 
linians were summoned to their arms. Governor John- 
son was a military man, and the several expeditions of a 
warlike character in which the Carolinians had been en- 
gaged, had infused into them a very martial spirit. For- 



90 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

tifications were pushed forward with rapidity, ammuni- 
tion procured, provisions stored ; and industry, stimulated 
by zeal and valor, soon put the settlements at Ashley riv- 
er in a tolerable state of defence. Fort Johnson was 
erected on James island, to meet this exigency ; redoubts 
raised at White Point, now the site of a promenade — the 
battery — no less beautiful than appropriately named ; and, 
having completed their preparations, the Carolinians 
calmly awaited the appearance of the foe. A French 
fleet, under Monsieur Le Feboure, having procured 
succor from Cuba and St. Augustine, appeared before 
Charlestown. Five separate smokes, which were raised 
by a corps of observation at Sullivan's island, announced 
the number of vessels in the invading armament. 

The inhabitants of the town were at once put under 
arms by William Rhett, the colonel in command ; des- 
patches were sent to the captains of militia in the coun- 
try, and governor Johnson, arriving from his plantation, 
proclaimed martial law at the head of the militia. His 
presence, as a military man of known capacity and valor, 
inspired the citizens with confidence. His measures 
were calculated to confirm it. He summoned the friend- 
ly Indians, stationed his troops judiciously, gave his 
commands with calmness and resolve, and as the troops 
came in from the country, assigned them their places and 
duties with the composure of one who had long be- 
fore adjusted his plan of resistance. The neighboring 
troops came to the defence of the city in numbers, and 
with alacrity. That same evening a troop of horse, 
under captain George Logan, and two companies of foot, 
commanded by major Broughton, reached the capital. 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 91 

The next morning, a company from James island, under 
captain Drake, another from Wando, under captain Fen- 
wicke, and five more, commanded by captains Cantey, 
Lynch, Hearne, Longbois, and Seabrook, from other parts 
of the province, made their appearance in the city, and 
with the resident militia, comprised at that time the chief 
military force of Carolina. Some great guns were put 
on board such ships as happened to be in the harbor, and 
the sailors were thus employed, in their own way, to as- 
sist in the defence of the city. The command of this 
little fleet was given to colonel William Rhett, a man of 
resolution and address. 

Meanwhile, the enemy having passed the bar, came 
to anchor a little above Sullivan's island, and sent up a 
flag to the governor, demanding his surrender. The 
messenger was received blindfold, and conducted into 
the forts, where Johnson had drawn up his forces so as to 
display them to the best advantage. By transferring hie 
troops from fort to fort, by short routes, the Frenchman 
was led to quadruple the real numbers of the defenders. 
Having demanded the surrender of the town and country 
to the arms of France, the messenger concluded by de- 
claring, that his orders allowed him but a single hour in 
which to receive an answer. Johnson answered prompt- 
ly, that it did not need a minute. " I hold this country 
for the queen of England:" said he. "I am ready to 
die, but not to deliver up my trust. My men will shed 
the last drop of their blood, to defend the country from 
the invader." 

This answer, with the report of his messenger, seems 
to have lessened the spirit of Le Feboure. His fleet re- 



92 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

mained stationary ; and, instead of attacking the city, he 
contented himself with setting on foot some predatory in- 
cursions into the contiguous islands. The day following 
this interview, a party went ashore at James island, from 
which the militia had been withdrawn for the defence of 
the city. They committed some petty trespasses, and 
burnt the houses upon one or more plantations, but were 
soon driven to their boats by a detachment under captain 
Drake, who had been sent over to encounter them. 
Another party of near two hundred men, landed on 
Wando neck and commenced similar depredations. — 
While in a state of fancied security, they were surprised 
before the break of day, by a detachment of one hundred 
men, under captain Cantey. A sharp fire from several 
quarters aroused them, in the same moment, to equal con- 
sciousness and confusion. Many were killed, some 
drowned, and more wounded. Those who escaped the 
attack became prisoners of war. 

Meanwhile, colonel Rhett, having got his little fleet in 
readiness, weighed his anchors, and moved down the 
river to where the enemy lay. But the French did not 
wait his assault. They escaped by superior sailing, and 
put to sea without suffering an exchange of shots. — 
After they had disappeared from the coast, a ship of 
force, with two hundred men, arrived to their assistance, 
and was seen in Sewee bay, where she landed a number 
of troops. This intelligence induced the governor to 
send captain Fenwicke against them by land, while 
Rhett, with two vessels, sailed round by sea, with the 
view to prevent their escape by that quarter. Fenwicke, 
though he found the enemy well posted, charged them 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 93 

gallantly, and drove them, after a spirited conflict, to their 
vessels. They fled from one foe only to encounter an- 
other. The movements of Rhett and Fenwicke had been 
so well concerted, that the ships of the former encountered 
the enemy in the bay, where she struck without firing 
a shot. Thus ended this expedition of Monsieur Le 
Feboure, against Carolina, as much to his own discredit 
as to the honor of the Carolinians, Of eight hundred 
men who came against the colony, nearly three hundred 
were killed and taken prisoners. Among the latter, were 
their chief land officer, Monsieur Arbuset, and several 
other officers. 

Governor Johnson was a man of courage and spirit; 
the militia were men hardened to danger by frequent en- 
counters with the Spaniards, the pirates, and the Indiana. 
They executed their commands with the promptitude and 
valor of men who fought for, and in sight of, their homes, 
their wives, and children ; and realized those results 
which seldom fail to reward the warrior who bares his 
sword under the same sacred auspices. 



CHAPTER X. 

Colonel Edward Tynte succeeded Sir Nathaniel John- 
son in office, under commission from lord Craven, suc- 
cessor, as palatine, to lord Grenville. Craven's policy fa- 
vored the dissenters, as much as that of Grenville had 
discouraged them ; but Tynte had scarcely time to learn 
the real state of the country, and to establish proper regu- 
lations in it, before he died. At his death, a controversy 
arose in the provincial council about the succession, which 
had almost produced civil war, and did for a brief period 
array two strong parties in arms against each other. One 
of these declared for Robert Gibbs, the other for Thomas 
Broughton. Broughton drew together an armed force at 
his plantation, with which he marched upon the town. 
There he encountered a similar array, under the command 
of Gibbs, who manned the walls with the militia, and 
closed the gates against him. Aided by some of the in- 
inhabitants, who let down the drawbridge, Broughton, 
however, forced a passage and entered the city. After 
blows were exchanged and wounds given, the party of 
Broughton prevailed, and marched towards the watch- 
house in Broad street. There, two companies of militia 
were posted. The prudence of some of the leaders inter- 
posed to prevent the bloody consequences of an issue ; 
and after vainly endeavoring to make himself heard in 
the clamour of drum and trumpet, which prevailed, 
Broughton led his men oft* in another quarter. Some 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 95 

farther excesses were committed, but the results were 
less fatal than was to have been feared from such a con- 
flict. Broughton was persuaded to withdraw his party, 
and it was agreed between himself and Gibbs that their 
several claims should be left to the proprietors for arbitra- 
ment. Their determination was in favor of neither. The 
office of governor was conferred upon Charles Craven, 
a brother of the lord palatine, who was immediately pro- 
claimed in form, and took upon him the administration. 

Craven was a man of great knowledge, courage and 
integrity ; and mutual esteem in council, and harmony in 
the colony, followed his appointment. He improved the 
defences of the colony, cultivated the friendship of the 
neighboring Indians and Spaniards, and took especial 
heed to the equitable and prompt administration of justice. 
Under his direction, the harbor of Port Royal was sounded 
and examined, and the spot selected for the future erec- 
tion of the town of Beaufort — so called in honor of Henry 
duke of Beaufort, afterwards lord palatine of the colony. 

In the year 1712, the Indians of the northern province, 
the Corees, Tuscaroras and other tribes, rose in arms and 
united to destroy the colonists. They murdered John 
Lawson, surveyor general of the colony, and large num- 
bers of other settlers. Aid was implored from South Caro- 
lina, and Craven despatched six hundred men, under the 
command of colonel Barnwell, to their relief. Hideous 
and wild indeed, was the wilderness, at this time, through 
which Barnwell was compelled to march. Unbroken 
forests, unopened swamps, deep waters, and tangled 
thickets, lay in his path. Without roads, he could employ 
neither carriages nor horses, and yet the utmost despatch 



96 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

was necessary in order to save the North Carolinians from 
their bloody enemies. In spite of every difficulty, Barn- 
well rapidly made his way until he came up with the sav- 
ages. He attacked them with boldness and success, slew 
three and made captives of one hundred men. The Tus- 
caroras he found, to the number of six hundred more, in 
one of their towns on the Neuse river. They were shel- 
tered by a wooden breastwork. Having surrounded them, 
and slain a considerable number he compelled the rest 
to sue for peace. This was granted ; but the faithless 
savages, as soon as he had returned to South Carolina, 
renewed their massacres. A second demand was made 
upon governor Craven, and a second force, under the 
command of colonel Moore, the son of the former governor, 
was despatched to meet the enemy. Moore found the 
Indians on the Tau river, about fifty miles from its mouth, 
where they had thrown up entrenchments. They were 
well provided with small arms, but were soon taught 
the folly of standing a siege. Moore defeated them, 
entered their works, and made eight hundred prisoners. 
The military strength of the Tuscaroras was annihilated 
in these conflicts. 

This Indian war was succeeded by another, which for 
a time threatened the very existence of the colony. The 
numerous and powerful tribe or nation of the Yamassees, 
possessing a large territory in the neighborhood of Port 
Royal, had long been friendly to the Carolinians. They 
had engaged as allies in most of the wars against the 
Spaniards, the French, and Indian tribes; had done 
good service, and always proved faithful. Instigated by 
the Spaniards at St. Augustine— the hereditary enemies 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 97 

of the Carolinians — who had united the Cherokees, the 
Muscoghees, and other Indian nations in a league for the 
destruction of the colony — the Yamasees suddenly ap- 
peared in arms. With so much secrecy had their pro- 
ceedings been conducted, that, at their onslaught, above 
ninety persons fell under their hatchets on the planta- 
tions near Pocotaligo. Joined with the Muscoghees and 
Apalachians, they advanced along the southern frontier, 
spreading desolation and slaughter where they came. 
Their numbers were increased by the Congarees, the 
Catawbas, and the Cherokees ; and the Carolinians were 
soon taught to apprehend the very worst consequences 
from the presence of a foe no less numerous than savage. 
The Indians of the southern division mustered more than 
six thousand warriors ; those of the northern were near a 
thousand more. From Florida to Cape Fear they were 
banded together, and marching forward to the destruction 
of the colony at Ashley river. 

But Craven proved himself equal to the emergency. 
He proclaimed martial law, laid an embargo on all ships 
to prevent either men or provisions from leaving the col- 
ony, seized upon arms and ammunition wherever they 
were to be found, and armed a force of trusty negroes to 
co-operate with the white militia. With twelve hundred 
men, he marched to meet the enemy. The Indians, mean- 
while, continued to advance, plundering and murdering 
without mercy as they came. Thomas Barker, a captain 
of militia, with a small force, encountered them, and was 
slain with many of his men. At Goose Creek, a troop of 
four hundred surrounded a little stockade which contained 
seventy white men and forty negroes. These maintained 

9* 



98 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

themselves for awhile, but listening imprudently to over- 
tures of peace, they admitted the savages within their 
defences, and were all butchered. In this manner, in a 
desultory march, they traversed the country around the 
capital, until the approach of governor Craven compelled 
their scattered bands to fall back upon their great camp 
upon the Salke-hatchij. Craven advanced with cautious 
but undeviating footsteps. The fate of the whole prov- 
ince depended on the success of his arms, and conquest 
or death vi^ere the only alternatives before him. Fortu- 
nately for the Carolinians, they had long been accustomed 
to the Indian modes of warfare. Its strange cries, and 
sudden terrors, did not appall them. The war-whoop 
had become a familiar sound, which they had learned to 
echo back with defiance; and when the battle joined, 
adopting the partizan warfare, which the deep thickets 
and interminable swamps of the country seem to suggest 
as the most likely to prove successful, they encountered 
their more numerous foes with confidence and success. 
The Indians fought with desperation and fury, but were 
defeated. Driven from their camp, they maintained a fly- 
ino- warfare, but found the Carolinians as inveterate in the 
pursuit as they had been valiant in the conflict. Craven 
kept his men close at the heels of the enemy, until, step 
by step, they were expelled from the country, and 
escaped only by throwing the Savannah between them- 
selves and their foes. They found shelter in the walls of 
St. Augustine, and for a time, until they grew troublesome, 
were treated there with sympathy and indulgence. Ex- 
pelled from the allies whom they could no longer serve, 
their future abodes were found in the everglades of the 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 99 

Seminoles, of which people they are conjectured, with 
sufficient plausibility, to be the ancestors. In this in- 
surrection, Carolina gained a vast accession of valuable 
territory, but lost no fewer than four hundred inhabitants. 
Craven was succeeded in his short but brilliant admin- 
istration, by Robert Johnson, a son of Sir Nathaniel John- 
son, who had formerly held the same office. He found the 
Carolinians suffering from the vast debts accumulated by 
their recent wars, the invasion of the province by the In- 
dians and Spaniards, and the destruction of their commerce 
by the pirates. To relieve them from this last annoyance, 
having no vessels of war of their own, application was 
made to the king of England, George of Hanover, who 
issued a proclamation, offering pardon to all pirates who 
should surrender themselves within twelve months. At 
the same time a force was ordered to sea for their sup- 
pression. As the island of Providence had long been their 
harboring place, captain Woods Rogers with a few ships 
of war, took possession of it for the crown. All the 
pirates on the island, with the exception of one Vane, and 
about ninety men who escaped in a sloop, surrendered 
themselves under the proclamation of the king. Vane fled 
to North Carolina, and distinguished himself soon after 
by the capture of two merchant ships of Charlestown. 
Two pirate sloops, commanded by Steed Bonnet and 
Richard Worley, found refuge in Cape Fear river, 
whence they issued on their depredations. Against these, 
colonel William Rhett, the same gentleman Avho had dis- 
tinguished himself in the French invasion, was sent in a 
single ship. Rhett soon discovered Bonnett, pursued 
and captured him. Governor Johnson himself embarked 



100 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

soon after this achievement, and captured the sloop of 
Worley after a desperate conflict. The pirates fought 
with the fury of doomed men, and were ail killed or 
wounded. The wounded men were tried and instantly 
executed, to anticipate the more honorable death which 
was threatened by their wounds. Bonnet and his crew 
were also tried, and all, except one man, were hung 
and buried on White Point, below high-water mark. 
Johnson increased his popularity by this display of valor. 
Other achievements of the same kind followed these, 
and the coast of Carolina was at length cleared of those 
robbers of the sea, who had fastened themselves upon 
the infant colony almost from its commencement. 

It was during the administration of Johnson that a rev- 
olution was effected in the colony, by which the people 
threw off the proprietary government and placed them- 
selves under that of the crown. It is needless to go into 
details, to show the causes which moved them to this 
change. They have already been summed up in former 
pages, and it is enough, in this place, to say, that the inter- 
ests of the two parties, not perhaps well understood by 
either, were never found to assimilate. It would be a 
miracle, indeed, if a colony governed from a distance, 
should be well governed ; and the natural evils incident 
to such a state of things, were necessarily increased by 
those peculiar troubles which had harrassed the fortunes 
of the Carolinians. Repeated wars, frequent invasions, 
robberies by pirates, and the heavy debts which accrued 
from these events, had made them ready to ascribe to polit- 
ical influence abroad, and to the operation of laws in which 
neither their wishes nor their interests had been consulted 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 101 

by the proprietors, the oppressive circumstances against 
which they had so long struggled. The conflict between 
the lords and the actual possessors of the soil, grew daily 
more serious ; and, availing themselves of the presence 
of the provincial assembly, then in session in Charles- 
town, the leaders of the people prepared in secret the 
scheme of a revolution, which proved perfectly success- 
ful. To these proceedings, governor Johnson, who was a 
faithful adherent of the proprietors, was an entire stranger 
until he received a letter, dated November 28th, 1719, and 
signed by Alexander Skene, George Logan, and William 
Blakeway, in which they informed him of the general 
association to throw off the proprietary rule. Against 
these attempts Johnson struggled earnestly but vainly. 
A proclamation for dissolving an assembly which he found 
himself unabled to manage, was torn from the hands of 
the marshal, he himself was deposed, and colonel James 
Moore, already known for his military achievements, was 
made governor in his stead. 

A day which had been appointed by Johnson for review- 
ing the militia, was that chosen by the convention which 
elected Moore, for the purpose of publicly proclaiming 
him. The governor having intelligence of this design, 
ordered colonel Parris, the commander of the militia, to 
postpone the review. Parris, however, was one of the 
popular party, and Johnson was surprised, on the day ap- 
pointed, to find the militia drawn up in the market place, 
drums beating, and colors flying on forts and shipping. 
Exasperated beyond prudence at this defiance of his au- 
thority, he advanced upon Parris as if to assault him ; but 
the colonel ordered his men to present and fire if he ad- 



102 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

vanced a step nearer. Johnson found himself utterly 
unsupported. Moore was declared governor of the prov- 
ince in the king's name, and the acclamations of the 
populace, and the unanimity which prevailed among them, 
sufficiently declared to Johnson his own, and the down- 
fall of the proprietary government. 

One circumstance alone revived his hopes. Having 
received certain advice that a Spanish fleet of fourteen 
ships and twelve hundred men had left the Havana, des- 
tined against South Carolina and the island of Providence, 
Johnson conceived it a proper time to endeavor to recall 
the people to a sense of their duty. He wTOte to the 
convention, and strove to reclaim them by showing the 
danger of military operations under illegal authority ; but 
the stubborn citizens remained firm in their defection, 
laughed at his warnings, and, in concert with the governor 
of their own creation, proceeded to make preparations for 
their defence. The militia was soon under arms, but the 
Spanish expedition proved abortive. Repulsed from 
Providence, and dismantled in a storm, the Spanish fleet 
was incapable of injury to Carolina. 

The arrival of several English armed vessels in the 
port of Charlestown, suggested other plans to the deposed 
representative of the lords proprietors. Their command- 
ers having declared for him, as the magistrate invested 
with legal authority, he brought up the ships of war in front 
of the town, and threatened its immediate destruction if 
the inhabitants any longer withheld their obedience to his 
authority. But with arms in their hands and forts in their 
possession, accustomed to conflict, and perhaps rather 
pleased wdth its excitements, the Carolinians were not 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 103 

to be terrified by the threats of one whose persuasions had 
failed to pacify them. Their answer of scornful defiance, 
accompanied by a couple of shot from the forts, convinced 
Johnson of the hopelessness of his cause ; and finding the 
people so determined, he drew off his forces and forbore 
all farther attempts to recover' his lost authority. The 
lords proprietors, at length made aware of the impolicy 
of any farther struggles in behalf of a plantation which 
they had managed with reference to their own pride and 
love of power, rather than to its real wants and the par- 
ticular circumstances of its condition ; and perhaps wea- 
ried with the continual opposition of a .fiery and head- 
strong people ; were easily persuaded to dispose of their 
pecuniary interests to the crown of England. Their po- 
litical rights, under the charter, had been already declared 
forfeited. About this time the province was divided into 
the colonies of South and North Carolina. With the ap- 
pointment of general Francis Nicholson, as governor of 
the former colony, begins the royal government of Eng- 
land over it. 



CHAPTER XI. 

The change from the proprietary to royal authority, 
^resulted in conferring upon South Carolina increased se- 
curity and freedom. The form of her government was 
no longer a speculative plan devised by theoretical writers, 
but a constitution which had been tested and confirmed 
by successive ages of experience. 

The first object of the royal concern, after the purchase 
of the colony, was to establish foreign and domestic peace, 
on the most permanent foundation. Laws were passed, 
relieving the inhabitants from many of the evils of which 
they complained, and the treaties of alliance with the 
Cherokees and other Indian nations were renewed. An 
embassy, at the head of which was Sir Alexander Cum- 
ming, explored the Cherokee country in 1730, three hun- 
dred miles from Charlestown, where he met the principal 
warriors, and even assisted at the creation of some of 
their chiefs. Six of these wild inhabitants of the forest 
returned with him to Charlestown, and accompanied him 
thence to England, where the king told them, that " he 
took it kindly that the great nation of Cherokee had sent 
them so far to brighten the chain of friendship between 
his and theirs. That chain," he said, " is now like the 
sun, which shines as well in Britain as upon the great 
mountains where they live. It equally warms the hearts 
of Indians and of Englishmen ; and as there is no black- 
ness on the sun, so neither is there any rust upon the 



TllE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 105 

cliain. He had fastened one end of it to his breast, and 
he desired them to carry the other end and fasten it to 
the breast of Moytoy of Telliquo, the great chief, and to 
the breasts of all their wise men, their captains, and the 
people, — never more to be broken or unloosed." 

The treaty which followed this interview was pro- 
nounced, by both parties, to be one which should endure 
while the rivers continued to run, the mountains to stand, 
and the sun to shine. Skiajagustah, the Cherokee orator, 
made a reply in the figurative language of his people. 

" We are come hither," he said, " from a mountainous 
place where all is darkness ; we are now in a place 
where all is light. There was one in our country who 
gave us a yellow token of warlike honor, which is with 
Moytoy of Telliquo. He came to us like a warrior from 
you. As warriors we received him. He is a man, — his 
talk was good, — his memory is among us. We love the 
great king. We look upon him as the sun. He is our 
father ; we are his children. Though you are white and 
we are red, our hearts and hands are joined together. We 
shall die in this way of thinking. We shall tell our peo- 
ple what we have seen ; our children, from generation to 
generation, will remember it. In war we shall be one 
with you. Your enemies shall be ours. Your people 
and ours shall be one, and shall live together. Your 
white people may build their houses beside us. We 
shall not do them hurt, for we are children of one father." 
He laid down a bunch of eagle's feathers as he added : 
"These stand for our words ; they are the same to us as 
letters in a book to you. To your beloved men we de- 
liver these feathers to stand for all that we have said." 

10 



106 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

For twenty years this peace was religiously observed 
by both parties. Meanwhile, Georgia was formed into a 
coloiiy, and settled under the government of the celebrated 
general, Oglethorpe. New influences began to prevail 
for the benefit of the two colonies. The merchants of 
Great Britain found their interest in encouraging the trade 
with the Carolinians ; and the introduction of an immense 
number of slaves, which enabled them to clear and culti- 
vate lands which had been hitherto inaccessible to Euro- 
pean labor, enabled the planters to extend, immeasurably, 
their credit and resources. The produce of the province, 
in a few years, was doubled. Forty thousand barrels of 
rice were exported in 1731, besides deer-skins, furs, 
naval stores, and provisions. Charlestown contained six 
hundred buildings ; and constant improvements and daily 
accessions of population and property began to distin- 
guish the Ashley river settlement, as one of the most 
flourishing of all the English colonies in the new world. 
Nor were the improvements confined to the metropolis. 
A vast accession of Indian lands, in the interior, encour- 
aged the settlers to penetrate even to the Cherokee 
country. 

A colony of Swiss settled on the Savannah, and estab- 
lished the town of Purrysburgh. Eleven townships were 
marked out on various rivers : two on the Altamaha, two 
on Savannah, two on Santee, and one on each of the 
rivers, Pedee, Black, Waccamaw, and Wateree. Spa- 
cious churches sprang up, even in the wilderness ; and 
the providence of the royal proprietor provided ample 
military stores and arms for the defence of his new and 
valuable acquisitions. 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 107 

The Spaniards maintained an evil eye upon the flour- 
ishing condition of their ancient enemies, and brooded 
with anxiety over the long cherished desire to destroy a 
people whom they still continued to regard as intruders. 
Their emissaries tampered equally with the Indians and 
negro slaves of Carolina ; and, frequently successful 
with the former, were at last influential with the latter. 
The runaways whom they seduced from their masters, 
were formed into a regiment at St. Augustine ; and this 
fact, once known to their brethren, was too imposing to 
their imaginations to fail of its eflect. They rose in 
revolt upon the Stono, and having plundered some store- 
houses of their arms and ammunition, elected a cap- 
tain, and proceeded, with drums and colors, on their 
way to the south-west. On their march they massacred 
the whites without discrimination and compelled the 
negroes to join their bands. Colonel William Bull, then 
governor, returning to Charlestown from the southward, 
met them without having been seen, and quietly rode out 
of their way. He spread the alarm, which soon reached 
the presbyterian church at Willtown, where a numerous 
congregation had assembled. It was, fortunately, the 
custom among the planters — a custom compelled by law 
— to carry their arms with them to the place of public 
worship. Indeed, for the first seventy years of the 
colony, the Carolinians had felt the necessity of bear- 
ing arms on all occasions and in all places, whether 
their purpose was sport, labor, or devotion. Under the 
command of captain Bee, they sallied forth, leaving the 
women and children in the church, trembling with appre- 
hensions. They came upon the negroes while engaged in 



108 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

a carousal over some liquors which they had found by the 
way. They had halted in an open field, singing and 
dancing in all the barbarous exultation of success. In 
this condition, to overcome them was an easy task. Di- 
viding his force into two squads. Bee attacked with 
one, while the other closed the avenues of escape. Sev- 
eral were killed ; the rest, dispersed in the woods, en- 
deavored to steal back to the plantations which they had 
deserted. The leaders suffered death, while the greater 
number was received to mercy. 

A war which followed between Spain and England, 
afforded the Carolinians an opportunity for commencing 
a series of reprisals upon the Spaniards, for the long 
train of evils which they had suffered at their hands. 
The great foreign military reputation of general Ogle- 
thorpe, of the Georgia colony, indicated that gentleman 
as the proper person to lead the joint forces of the two 
provinces of Carolina and Georgia against their common 
enemy. A small European force was sent from Great 
Britain; companies were furnished by Virginia and 
North Carolina ; the rest of the army was composed 
of the Georgia militia, and a strong regiment from 
South Carolina, under the command of colonel Vander- 
dussen. 

After various delays, which have been charged against 
general Oglethorpe as the true causes of the failure of 
the expedition, and which certainly enabled the Spaniards 
to provide against the invaders, he reached St. Augustine ; 
having, on his way, captured two small forts called Moosa 
and Diego. His force amounted to two thousand men. 
But, during his stay at Fort Diego, the garrison at St. 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 109 

Augustine had received an accession of strength from six 
Spanish galleys, armed with long brass nine pounders, 
and two sloops loaded with provisions. When he sum- 
moned the fortress, he was answered with defiance. The 
haughty Don, secure in his strong hold, sent him for an- 
swer, that he would be happy to shake hands with him 
within the castle. A bombardment followed this reply, 
but without effecting any change in the spirit of the de- 
fenders. The fire was returned from the castle and gal- 
leys, but little injury was done on either side, and the 
besiegers found it wiser to consult than to cannonade. 

The only hope of Oglethorpe had been to effect his 
object by surprise. Failing in this, the light weight of 
his metal, and the ample preparations of the Spaniards 
against blockade, left him but little prospect of achieving 
the conquest of so strong a fortress in any other manner. 
Meantime, the Spanish commander, perceiving that the 
operations of the besiegers were relaxed, and suspecting 
their embarrassment, sent out a detachment of three hun- 
dred men against a small party under colonel Palmer, 
which lay at Fort Moosa. This commander suffered 
himself to be surprised, and his men, who were sleeping^ 
at the time, were most of them cut in pieces. This dis- 
aster, in connection with the desertion of the allied 
Indians, added to the already sufficient reasons which 
existed for abandoning the expedition. These people, 
who are not calculated for tedious enterprises, that de- 
mand patience and afford no opportunities for action, 
were offended with the haughty humanity of the genera]. 
When they brought him the scalp of an enemy, he called 
them barbarous dogs, rejected the trophy, and bade them 

10* 



110 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

begone from his sight. They compared this reception 
with that to which they had hitherto been accustomed, 
and soon after deserted him. 

The siege was raised, and its failure was ascribed by 
the Carolinians to the deliberate and measured advance 
of their commander, and to his subsequent timidity in 
making no bold attempt upon the town. He, on the 
other hand, declared that he had no confidence in the 
firmness of the provincials. The truth is, the place was 
so strongly fortified, well provided and numerously man- 
ned, that, in all probability, such an attempt must have 
failed, though conducted by the ablest officers, and exe- 
cuted by the best disciplined troops. 

The mutual recrimination between the parties, which 
followed this failure, led to many injurious dislikes and 
misunderstandinors. To so great a degree was this dis- 
like carried on the part of the Carolinians, that, in a sub- 
sequent period, when Georgia was invaded by a Spanish 
force, they at first declined sending help to the sister col- 
ony ; alleging that they could not trust their troops to a 
commander in whom they had no confidence. At a late 
hour, indeed, they resolved diff'erently, and despatched 
three ships to the assistance of the Georgians. The ap- 
pearance of this tardy force upon the coast, gave a spur 
to the flight of the invaders. Oglethorpe had already 
beaten them, — acquitting himself like a good captain and 
brave man, and fully redeeming the errors, if any, which 
he had made in the expedition to St. Augustine. 

To add to the disasters sustained by Carolina in this un- 
successful invasion — her losses of men, money and re- 
pute — a desolating fire, in the same year, (1740) broke out 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. Ill 

in the capital, which consumed one half of the town. 
Three hundred houses were destroyed, and an immense 
quantity of goods, provincial commodities and provisions. 
Twelve years after this event, a hurricane nearly destroy- 
ed what the fire had spared, and the devoted city was only 
saved from being utterly swallowed up in the seas, by a 
providential change of wind. The waters of the Gulf 
Stream, whichhad been driven by the blast upon the shores, 
were permitted to subside into their accustomed channels. 
In ten minutes after the wind had shifted, the waters fell 
five feet. But for this, every inhabitant in Charlestown 
would have perished. Many were drowned, — many more 
hurt ; the wharves and fortifications were demolished, the 
provisions in the fields were destroyed, and vast numbers 
of the cattle perished. The dwellings of the town pre- 
sented the appearance of one general ruin. 

In 1755, the Cherokees renewed their treaty of peace 
wfth the Carolinians, and accompanied this act by a ces- 
sion of a vast portion of territory. This cession, apart 
from the intrinsic value of the land, was important in 
another respect, as it served to remove the Indians still 
farther from the white settlements. Several forts were 
built by Glen, then governor of Carolina, in the ceded 
territory. One of these, called Prince George, was situ- 
ated on the banks of the Savannah, and within gun-shot 
of an Indian town called Keowee. It contained barracks 
for an hundred men, was built in the form of a square, 
had an earthen rampart six feet high, on which stockades 
were fixed, with a ditch, a natural glacis on two sides, 
and bastions at the angles, on each of which four small 
cannon were mounted. On the banks of the same river, 



112 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 

about one hundred and seventy miles below, another 
fort was raised, called Fort Moore, in a beautiful and 
commanding situation. Another, called Loudon, was 
built on the Tennessee, upwards of live hundred miles 
from Charlestown. These strong holds were garrisoned 
by troops from Britain ; and the establishment of these 
defences in the interior, led to the rapid accumulation of 
settlers in all the choice places in their neighborhood. 
In the year 1757, and while William Lyttleton, after- 
wards lord Westcott, was governor of Carolina, a large 
party of Cherokee Indians who had been serving in 
the armies of Great Britain against the French in the 
west, and had assisted in the conquest of the famous Fort 
Duqucsne, returning from the wars to their homes, took 
possession of a number of horses belonging to the whites, 
as they passed through the back parts of Virginia. The 
Virginians rashly resented the robbery by violence. 
Thev killed a number of the warriors, and took several 
prisoners. This aggression kindled the flames of war 
among the injured people, mIio commenced the Avork of 
reprisal by scalping the whites wherever they were 
found. Parties of the young warriors rushed down upon 
the frontier settlements, and the work of massacre be- 
came General alono- the borders of Carolina. The 
Carolinians gathered in arms, and when the chiefs of the 
Cherokees became aware of the fact, they sent a deputa- 
tion to Charlestown to disarm the anger of the people by 
a timely reconciliation. Unhappily, governor Lyttleton 
treated these messengers with indignity, and finally made 
them prisoners. Having resolved upon a military expe- 
dition, he refused to listen to their orator, but proceeded, 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 113 

with his force — the chiefs being under guard — to his ren- 
dezvous on Congaree river, where he mustered fourteen 
hundred men. 

The Cherokees, burning with indignation at this treat- 
ment, were yet subtle enough to suppress the show of it. 
They agreed to such terms as Lyttleton proposed, — gave 
up twenty-two out of twenty-four hostages which he de- 
manded, to be kept till the young warriors who had 
committed the murders upon the Carolinians, could be 
secured and delivered, — and renewed their pledges of 
peace and alliance. But he had scarcely returned to the 
capital when he received the news of the murder of 
fourteen whites within a mile of Fort George. A colonel 
Cotymore had been left in charge of that fortress. To 
this officer the Indians had taken an unconquerable 
aversion. Occonostota, a chief of great influence, had 
become a most implacable enemy of the Carolinians, and 
proposed to himself the task of taking Prince George. 
Having gathered a strong force of Cherokees, he sur- 
rounded it ; but finding that he could make no impression 
on the works, nor alarm the commander, he had recourse 
to stratagem to effect his object. He placed a select 
body of savages in a dark thicket by the river side, and 
sent an Indian woman to tell Cotymore that he wished to 
see him at the river, where he had some thing of conse- 
quence to communicate. Cotymore, accompanied by his 
two lieutenants, Bell and Foster, imprudently consented. 
When he reached the river, Occonostota appeared on the 
opposite side, having in his hand a bridle. He told Coty- 
more that he was on his way to Charlestown, to procure 
a release of the prisoners, and would be glad of a white 



114 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

man to go with him as a safeguard, — adding, that he was 
about to hunt for a horse for the journey. Cotymore told 
him that he should have a guard ; and while they par- 
leyed, Occonostota thrice waved the bridle over his head. 
This signal to the savages in ambush, for such it was, 
proved fatal to the three officers, who were instantly shot 
down. Cotymore was slain on the spot ; the two officers 
were wounded. In consequence of this deed, the gar- 
rison proceeded to put in irons the twenty hostages that 
had been left with them. They resisted the attempt, 
and stabbed three of the men who endeavored to put the 
manacles on them. The garrison, in the highest degree 
exasperated, fell upon them in fury, and butchered them 
to a man. 

This catastrophe maddened the whole nation. There 
were few Cherokee families that did not lose a friend or 
relative in this massacre, and with one voice they de- 
clared for battle. They seized the hatchet, and singing 
their songs of war, and burning with indignation for re- 
venge, they rushed down — a reckless and countless 
horde — upon the frontiers of Carolina. Men, women 
and children, without discrimination, fell victims to their 
merciless fury ; and, to add to the misfortunes of the bor- 
derers, Charlestown, laboring under the presence of that 
dreadful scourge, the small-pox, was too feeble to send 
them succor. What could be done, however, was done. 
Seven troops of rangers were furnished by Virginia and 
North Carolina ; and a British force, under the command 
of colonel Montgomery, afterwards earl of Egiintoun, was 
sent by general Amherst, the commander-in-chief in Amer- 
ica at that time, to the relief of the province. Montgomery 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 115 

chastised the Cherokees in several severe engagements, 
in which they lost large numbers of their warriors ; but 
without humbling them to submission. He was compel- 
led to return to New York, leaving his work unfinished. 
In the meantime, the distant garrison of Fort Loudon, 
on the Tennessee river, consisting of two hundred men, 
was reduced by famine. The Virginians had undertaken 
to relieve it, but failed to do so ; and the miserable occu- 
pants were reduced to the necessity of submitting to the 
mercy of the Cherokees. Captain Stuart, an officer of 
great sagacity and address, to whom the post had been 
entrusted, succeeded in obtaining good terms of safety; 
upon which he capitulated. By these terms the garrison 
were permitted to march out with their arms and drums, 
as much ammunition as was necessary on their march, 
and such baggage as they might choose to carry. The 
Indians were to take the lame and wounded soldiers into 
their towns, provide as many horses as they could for the 
garrison, furnish guides, and an escort which was to pro- 
tect them ; — for all of which they were to be paid accord- 
ing to certain estimates which were understood among 
them. The fort, cannon, powder and ball, were deliv- 
ered up to the Indians. 

The capitulation took effect, and the garrison had pro- 
ceeded fifteen miles upon their march, when they were 
deserted by their guides and escort, beset by a large 
body of savage^ and, though fighting gallantly, were 
overcome. Twenty-six men fell at the first fire, a few 
escaped by flight, while Stuart, the commander, with 
many others, was carried into captivity. Stuart, through 
th^ friendship of one of their chiefs, finally escaped, after 



116 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

many hardships, into Virginia ; but the rest of the pris- 
oners were kept in a miserable captivity for some time, 
and redeemed at last only at great expense. 

Though the Cherokees had suffered severely from the 
measures of Montgomery, they were not yet disposed 
for peace. The French maintained emissaries among 
them who continually fomented the appetite for war. 
" I am for war !" cried a young warrior of Estatoe, in a 
council where an agent of France had been busy to make 
them discountenance the efforts of some of their own 
chiefs, who labored in the cause of peace: "I am still 
for war ! The spirits of our brothers call upon us to 
avenore their death. He is a woman who will not follow 
me!" The savages, moved by his wild eloquence, 
seized the tomahawk anew, and the war was renewed in 
all its former fury. 



CHAPTER XII. 

On the part of the Carolinians, every effort was made 
to meet the emergency and to open the campaign with 
vigor, A provincial regiment was raised, the command 
of which was given to colonel Middleton. Among the 
other field officers were Henry Laurens, William Moul- 
trie, Francis Marion, Isaac Huger, and Andrew Pickens ; 
gentlemen, all of whom subsequently became burning and 
shining lights in the history of Carolina achievement. In 
the expedition thus resolved upon, they commenced that 
admirable course of training, which prepared them for the 
arduous trials and severe conflicts of the revolution, 
which shortly after followed. An additional force of 
British regulars, under colonel James Grant, landed at 
Charlestown early in the year 1761 ; and the combined 
troops, together with a number of friendly Indians, in all 
twenty-six hundred men, were placed under the com- 
mand of this gentleman. 

The Cherokees encountered Grant, with all their 
strength, near the town of Etchoe, on the spot where they 
had fought with Montgomery in the previous campaign^ 
They were posted upon a hill on the right flank of the 
army, from whence they rushed down upon the advanced 
guard, pouring in a destructive fire as they came. The 
guard repulsed them, and continued to advance. The 
Cherokees recovered the heights, and the endeavor to 
dislodge them brought on a general engagement, which 

11 



118 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

was fought on both sides with great bravery. The Caro- 
linians contended against several disadvantages, which 
made the issue for some time doubtful. They had come 
suddenly within sight of the foe, and had advanced to im- 
mediate conflict, after a fatiguing march in rainy weather. 
They were surrounded with woods of which they had no 
knowledge, and which completely sheltered the enemy 
from their aim ; galled by the scattering fire of the sava- 
ges, who fell back whenever they advanced, only to rally 
and begin the fight in another quarter. For three hours 
did this sort of warfare continue, until the persevering 
valor of the whites succeeded in completely expelling the 
Indians from the field. They fled, fighting while they ran, 
in different directions. They were pursued with energy, 
and found no opportunity to unite or rally. Their loss 
in the action is unknown ; that of the Carolinians was fif- 
ty or sixty, killed and wounded. The slain were not bu- 
ried, but sunk in the river, that their bodies might not be 
exposed to the indignities of the savage. 

After this victory. Grant advanced upon Etchoe, a 
large Cherokee town, which was reduced to ashes. — 
Every other town in the middle settlements shared the 
same fate. Their granaries and corn fields were like- 
wise destroyed, and their miserable families were driven 
to the barren mountains which, in yielding them a shel- 
ter, could yield them nothing more. The name of Grant 
became, in consequence of this chastisement, a word sig- 
nifying devastation. The savages, who h^ fought with 
great vigor and spirit for a time, and who, it is conjec- 
tured, had been posted and counselled by some experien- 
ced French officers, were completely overcome. The na- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 119 

tional spirit was for a while subdued, and they beheld, 
with the supineness of despair, the flames of their towns, 
and the desolation of their settlements. They humbly 
sued for peace, through the medium of the old and friendly 
chief, Attakullakulla. " I am come," said the venerable 
chief, " to see what can be done for my people, who 
are in great distress. As to what has taken place, I be- 
lieve it has been ordered by the great Master above. 
He is father of the whites and Indians : as we all live 
in one land, let us all live as one people." His prayer 
was granted; peace was ratified between the parties, and 
the end of this bloody war, which was supposed to have 
originated in the machinations of French emissaries, was 
among the last humbling blows given to the expiring 
power of France in North America. 

This campaign, which was so creditable to the valor of 
all concerned in it, was followed by an unhappy differ- 
ence between the commanders of the regular and pro- 
vincial forces. Colonel Grant was a Scotch officer of 
high spirit. He possessed much of that haughty feeling 
of superiority which was so apt to distinguish the conduct 
of soldiers of the mother country in their treatment of the 
provincials ; a signal example of which exhibited itself 
but a short period before, in a neighboring colony, in the 
deportment of the depraved and arrogant Braddock to 
the brave and virtuous Washington. In its indulgence, 
he gave offence to colonel Middleton, his associate in 
command, a gentleman no less tenacious of the honor of 
the province than of his own position. During the expe- 
dition, Grant had displayed an offensive indifference to 
the counsels of the provincial officers, whom the British 



120 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

were but too apt to consider incapable of a correct judg- 
ment in military operations. He had also claimed the 
chief credit of having conquered the Cherokees. This 
claim was resisted by Middleton with energy and spirit. 
A controversy ensued: Middleton challenged Grant to 
the field of personal combat, and a meeting took place, 
which happily terminated without bloodshed. But the 
controversy aroused a feeling in the Carolinians, who 
generally sided with their champion ; and the bitter ani- 
mosities which this affair enkindled in their bosoms, it is 
not improbable, contributed to awaken the provincials to 
a more keen ponviction of the haughty, domineering 
spirit of the mother country — a spirit which spared no 
opportunity of displaying itself, and which was no less 
insolent in its deportment, than unjust in most of its 
exactions. 

From this period we may date the true beginning, not 
only of the prosperity, but the independence of Carolina. 
The Indians were subdued upon her frontiers, and the 
' peace of Paris' had relieved her from the secret machi- 
nations and the open hostility of France. Security from 
all foreign enemies, left her free to the consideration of 
the true relation in which she stood with Great Britain — 
a question which forced itself upon all the American 
colonies at the same period of time ; and opened that 
spirit of inquiry and examination, which, passing from 
fact to fact, and from principle to principle, with amazing 
rapidity, arrived at length at those convictions of political 
truth, which have placed the united country at the very 
summit of political freedom. Never did any colony 
flourish in a more surprising degree than South Carolina, 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 121 

as soon as the Cherokees were overcome, and the French 
and Spaniards driven from her borders. Multitudes of 
emigrants from all parts of Europe, flocked to the interior, 
and pursuing the devious progress of the streams, sought 
out their sources, and planted their little colonies on the 
sides of lofty hills, or in the bosom of lovely vallies. 
Six hundred poor German settlers arrived in one body ; 
Ireland poured forth such numbers from her northern 
counties, as almost threatened the depopulation of the 
kingdom. Scarce a ship sailed for any of the plantations, 
that was not crowded with men, women and children, 
seeking the warm and fertile regions of Carolina, of which 
such glowing tidings had reached their ears, and where 
the land was proffered in bounties to all new comers. 
Nor did the colony receive these accessions from Europe 
only. In the space of a single year, more than a thou- 
sand families with their effects, their cattle, hogs and 
horses, crossed the Alleghanies from the eastern settle- 
ments, and pitched their tents upon the Carolinian fron- 
tier. These accessions brought strength and security to 
the province. In proportion as the number of white in- 
habitants increased, its danger from the savages was les- 
sened. With numbers came the exercise of mind as well 
as body, and this exercise, as it taught them their impor- 
tance to Great Britain, soon induced a natural pride in 
their own strength, and a proper jealousy of their liber- 
ties. They had hitherto obeyed a foreign government, 
as they had been indebted to its power for protection. 
But their increase of numbers, their vast extent of terri- 
tory, the variety of their productions, and the wealth 
which these necessarily procured, gradually subtracted 

11* 



122 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

from the overweening estimate which, in their depend- 
ence, they were willing to put upon British valor and 
genius, and the advantages of an intimate British con- 
nection. The great stretch of sea which divided them 
from the governing power, led, necessarily, to their 
gradual alienation from it. They saw few of its pomps ; 
they shared in few of its favors ; and when the arrogance 
of parliament endeavored to make them more familiar 
with its powers, by reason of its exactions, they were 
then willing to know it only as a foe. From the moment 
when the peace of Europe led to the withdrawal of all 
pressure from an external enemy, they had been receiv- 
ing those impressions, and acquiring that strength, which 
prepared them to perceive, and enabled them to resist, all 
such laws as they deemed hostile to their interests, or 
dangerous to their liberties. The hardships they had en- 
dured, made them singularly jealous from the beginning : 
many of them had inherited a natural aversion to monar- 
chy from their ancestors, the puritans ; and the removal 
of the cavaliers from the sources and shows of royalty, 
had gradually weaned them from that faith in its saving 
virtues, by which they had been so ready of old to swear. 
A new race had succeeded to them in Carolina, and puri- 
tans and cavaliers had merged their hostility of doctrine 
in that unanimity of practice, which alone could give 
them success in the seventy years of strife and trial, 
through which they had struggled together ; so that, long 
before the British parliament began to vex them by its 
strained authority, they were disposed to deny its suprem- 
acy, and cut asunder those cords which bound them to 
the mother country — cords too much attenuated by the 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 123 

distance between the parties, to endure very long the 
pressure or the violence of either. 

The strength of these connecting cords was soon to be 
tested fatally. The first British statute that awakened 
the general opposition of the colonies, was one enti- 
tled the " Stamp act." It was passed in the year 1765. 
By this it was enacted, that all instruments of writing 
which are in use among a commercial people, should be 
void in law, unless executed upon stamped paper or parch- 
ment, charged with a duty imposed by parliament. — 
South Carolina declared her opposition to this assump- 
tion of arbitrary power, without waiting to consult with 
any other colony. Her example had considerable effect 
in recommending measures of like opposition to many 
others, who were more tardy in their concurrence. The 
assembly of Carolina embodied the sentiments of the 
greater number of the people, in the principles contained 
in the following resolution: 

" Resolved, That his majesty's subjects in Carolina, 
owe the same allegiance to the crown of Great Britain, 
that is due from its subjects born there. That his majes- 
ty's liege subjects of this province, are entitled to all the 
inherent rights and liberties of his natural born subjects 
within the kingdom of Great Britain. That the inhab- 
itants of this province appear also to be confirmed in all 
the rights aforementioned, not only by their charter, but 
by an act of parliament, 13th, George 11. That it is in- 
separably essential to the freedom of a people, and the 
undoubted right of Englishmen, that no taxes be imposed 
on them, but with their own consent. That the people of 
this province are not, and from their local circumstances 



124 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

cannot be, represented in the house of commons m Great 
Britain ; and farther, that, in the opinion of this house, 
the several powers of legislation in America, were con- 
stituted in some measure upon the apprehension of this 
impracticability. That the only representatives of the 
people of this province, are persons chosen therein by 
themselves, and that no taxes ever have been, or can be, 
constitutionally imposed on them, but by the legislature of 
this province. That all supplies to the crown being free 
gifts of the people, it is unreasonable and inconsistent 
with the principles and spirit of the British constitution, 
for the people of Great Britain to grant to his majesty the 
property of the people of this province. That trial by 
jury is the inherent and invaluable right of every British 
subject in this province. That the act of parliament, en- 
titled, an act for granting and applying certain stamp- 
duties and other duties on the British colonies and plan- 
tations in America, &c., by imposing taxes on the inhab- 
itants of this province ; and the said act and several other 
acts, by extending the jurisdiction of the courts of admi- 
ralty beyond its ancient limits, have a manifest tendency 
to subvert the rights and liberties of this province. 
That the duties imposed by several late acts of parlia- 
ment, on the people of this province, will be extremely 
burdensome and grievous ; and, from the scarcity of gold 
and silver, the payment of them absolutely impractica- 
ble. That as the profits of the trade of the people of 
this province ultimately centre in Great Britain, to pay 
for the manufactures which they are obliged to take from 
thence, they eventually contribute very largely to all the 
supplies granted to the crown; and besides, as every in- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 125 

dividual in this province is as advantageous, at least, to 
Great Britain, as if he were in Great Britain, as they 
pay their full proportion of taxes for the support of his 
majesty's government here, (which taxes are equal, or 
more, in proportion to our estates, than those paid by our 
fellow-subjects in Great Britain upon theirs,) it is unrea- 
sonable for them to be called upon to pay any further 
part of the charges of government there. That the as- 
semblies of this province have from time to time, when- 
ever requisitions have been made to them by his majesty, 
for carrying on military operations, either for the defence 
of themselves or America in general, most cheerfully 
and liberally contributed their full proportion of men and 
money for these services. That though the representa- 
tives of the people of this province had equal assurances 
and reasons with those of the other provinces, to expect 
a proportional reimbursement of those immense charges 
they had been at for his majesty's service in the late war, 
out of the several parliamentary grants for the use of 
America ; yet they have obtained only their proportion 
of the first of those grants, and the small sum of jG285 
sterling received since. That, notwithstanding, when- 
ever his majesty's service shall for the future require the 
aid of the inhabitants of this province, and they shall be 
called upon for this purpose, in a constitutional way, it 
shall be their indispensable duty most cheerfully and lib- 
erally to grant to his majesty their proportion, according 
to their ability, of men and money, for the defence, secu- 
rity, and other public services of the British American 
colonies. That the restrictions on the trade of the peo- 
ple of this province, together with the late duties and 



126 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

taxes imposed on them by act of parliament, must neces- 
sarily greatly lessen the consumption of British manu- 
factures among them. That the increase, prosperity, and 
happiness of the people of this province, depend on the 
full and free enjoyment of their rights and liberties, and 
on an affectionate intercourse with Great Britain. That 
the readiness of the colonies to comply with his majesty's 
requisitions, as well as their inability to bear any addi- 
tional taxes beyond what is laid on them by their res- 
pective legislatures, is apparent from several grants of 
parliament, to reimburse them part of the heavy expen- 
ses they were at in the late war in America. That it is 
the right of the British subjects of this province to peti- 
tion the king, or either house of parliament. Ordered^ 
That these votes be printed and made public, that a just 
sense of the liberty, and the firm sentiments of loyalty 
of the representatives of the people of this province, 
may be known to their constituents, and transmitted to 
posterity." 

The stamp act was repealed, in consequence of the 
universal hostility which it provoked in America; but a 
like measure of arbitrary authority was attempted in the 
year following. Duties were imposed upon glass, paper, 
tea, and painters' colors. The opposition of the colonies 
was renewed with partial success ; the duties, with the 
exception of that upon tea, were all withdrawn ; and the 
Americans determined to defeat the effect of this reser- 
vation, by refusing to consume a commodity which was 
made the medium of unjust taxation. This resolution was 
rendered inoperative, by a scheme of the West Indian 
company. It sent to the colonies large shipments of tea, 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 127 

to be sold on account of the company. This measure 
increased the anger of the colonists, who promptly- 
entered into combinations to obstruct or prevent its sale. 
In some places the landing of it was forbidden ; the car- 
goes sent to South Carolina were stored, and the con- 
signees restrained from exposing it in the market. It rotted 
in the ware-houses. In Boston a more summary and vio- 
lent measure was adopted. A few men, disguised as In- 
dians, entered the vessels and threw the cargoes over- 
board. This trespass on private property, provoked the 
British parliament to take legislative vengeance upon the 
town where it was committed. Acts were passed which 
virtually put Boston in a state of blockade. Other acts 
followed, by which the whole executive government was 
taken out of the hands of the people, the nomination of 
all officers vested in the king or his representative, and 
the charter of the province violated in some of its most 
vital features. 

These proceedings had the effect of producing a gene- 
ral confederacy of the colonies, to sustain Massachusetts 
against measures which threatened the colonists with 
utter subjugation to the dominion of arbitrary authority. 
South Carolina, in an assembly of the people, declared, 
" that the late act for shutting up the port of Boston, and the 
other late acts relative to Boston, and the province of 
Massachusetts, are calculated to deprive many thousand 
Americans of their rights, properties and privileges, in 
a most cruel, oppressive, and unconstitutional manner ; are 
most dangerous precedents, and though leveled immedi- 
ately at the people of Boston, very manifestly and plainly 
show, if the inhabitants of that town are intimidated into 



128 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

a mean submission to said acts, that the like are designed 
for all the colonies ; when, not even the shadow of lib- 
erty to his person, or of security to his property, will be 
left to any of his majesty's subjects residing on the Amer- 
ican continent." 

The South Carolinians concluded their resolutions, by 
sending Henry Middleton, John Rutledge, Christopher 
Gadsden, Thomas Lynch, and Edward Rutledge, as dep- 
uties, to meet the deputies from the other colonies in a 
general congress, at Philadelphia. On the return of these 
delegates to South Carolina, with a report of their pro- 
ceedings, a provincial congress was held at Charlestown, 
forming a new representative body of one hundred and 
eighty-four members. They met on the 11th of January, 
1775, and without a dissenting voice, approved of what 
had been done in the continental congress. They passed 
a number of resolutions suited to the times, and concluded 
by a mixed recommendation to all the inhabitants, which 
savors of the old leaven of puritanism,to practice the use 
of fire arms, and set aside a day for prayer, fasting, and hu- 
miliation. These recommendations for arming and pray- 
ing, were carried into effect with equal zeal, and Charles- 
town resumed the appearance, which it had so frequently 
worn before, of a garrisoned town. Volunteers formed 
themselves into separate bands ; and the very boys of the 
city, emulating their seniors, were soon busy in the use of 
mimic weapons, and in the practice of the manual. 

While affairs stood in this posture, a packet reached 
Charlestown, containing despatches from the British gov- 
ernment to the governors of Virginia, the Carolinas, Geor- 
gia, and Florida, which were seized by William Henry 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 129 

Drayton, John Neufville, and Thomas Corbett, three gen- 
tlemen forming a select committee which had been ap- 
pointed for this very object. These despatches presented 
abundant evidence of a determination on the part of Eng- 
land to coc ce America by military force. This evidence 
was sufficiently confirmed by the affair of Lexington, 
which happened on the same day, and which, when the in- 
telligence reached Carolina, awakened the most lively 
feelings of indignation and revenge. A fierce spirit of 
freedom was kindled in every bosom, and all statutes of 
allegiance were considered as repealed on the bloody 
plains of Lexington. 

The Carolinians were unprovi'ded, but not unpre- 
pared, for war. They knew the strength of Britain — 
her fleets, her armies, her wealth; they knew their 
own poverty, their want of numbers, and the vast ex- 
tent of coast and frontier, which, in the event of war, 
they were obliged to defend ; — but they breathed nothing 
but defiance. Arms and ammunition they chiefly wanted, 
and they resolved upon the only measure which could 
yield them a supply. This measure was an overt act of 
treason. Twelve hundred muskets were in the royal 
magazine. That very night, when intelligence of the 
battle of Lexington was received, the arsenal was entered 
by persons disguised and unknown, and emptied of all 
its contents. The provincial congress was again as- 
sembled. On the second day of its meeting, it was 
unanimously resolved that an association was necessary. 
The parties to this instrument, which was signed by 
Henry Laurens, as president, pledged themselves to "be 
ready to sacrifice life and fortune to secure the freedom 

12 



130 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

and safety of South Carolina ; holding all persons inimi- 
cal to the liberty of the colonies, who shall refuse to sub- 
scribe the association." This document was tendered 
to the lieutenant governor, William Bull, who was a na- 
tive of the province, but he refused to sign it. The 
congress resolved to raise two regiments of foot, a 
company of rangers, and to put the town and province in 
a state of defence. So great was the excitement and 
ardor of the people, that, in a few weeks after the battle 
of Lexington, the popular leaders had a treasury and 
army at command. While the congress was in session, 
the royal governor, lord William Campbell, arrived in the 
city. Its members waited upon him, with an address of 
congratulation, in which, among other things, they de- 
clare, "that no love of innovation, no desire of altering the 
constitution of government, no lust of independence, has 
had the least influence upon their councils." " We only 
desire the secure enjoyment of our rights." Campbell 
replied that he was " incompetent to judge of the disputes 
between Great Britain and the colonies," and refused to 
recognize any representatives of the people, except in the 
constitutional assembly. 

At the time these military operations were in progress, 
the whole quantity of powder in the province, did not ex- 
ceed three thousand pounds. To obtain a supply, extra- 
ordinary measures were necessary. Informed that a Brit- 
ish sloop had reached St. Augustine, having a large sup- 
ply, twelve persons sailed from Charlestown, and carried 
her by surprise, though she was in charge of as many gren- 
adiers. They took out fifteen thousand pounds of powder, 
and spiking the guns of the vessel, set sail for Beaufort, 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 131 

which port they easily made, while their pursuers were 
waitino- for them at the bar of Charleston. This season- 
able capture was sent to the relief of Massachusetts, where 
it happened to be more immediately required. The next 
military proceeding of the popular leaders, was to take 
possession of Fort Johnson. Colonel Motte, with a 
small party of provincials, was appointed to execute this 
duty. Before he landed on the island, however, the fort 
was dismantled, and the British retired on board of two 
armed ships, the Cherokee and Tamar, which lay in the 
harbor. Captain Heyward, with a detachment of the 
Charlestown artillery, occupied the fort the same night, and 
by dawn of the next day, had three guns ready for action. 
Colonel Moultrie, with another party, soon after mounted 
some heavy cannon at Haddrell's Point ; and a few well- 
directed shot drove the British vessels out to sea. Hos- 
tilities were thus fairly commenced in South Carolina. 
Forts on James' and Sullivan's islands, Haddrell's point, 
and other places, were immediately constructed ; the mili- 
tia were diligently put in training, the provincial troops dis- 
ciplined, and all the means within the knowledge and pow- 
er of the Carolinians, and important to their interests and 
safety, were consulted and secured. Conscious of the 
justice of their cause, and satisfied with what they had 
done towards its success, they awaited with natural impa- 
tience, the progress of that fearful drama, the opening of 
which we have already seen. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The revolution thus effected by the popular leaders in 
South Carolina, did not receive the unanimous approba- 
tion of the people. There were many, even on the sea- 
board, who either secretly or openly denounced it; and 
large and populous settlements in the interior, supported 
their opposition by appearing in arms at an early period, 
in behalf of the royal cause. The British government 
had been known to the Carolinians chiefly by its benefac- 
tions. Its treasures had supplied them; its power had 
protected them ; its arms had succored and defended 
them from foreign and domestic foes. The pressure of 
an abstract principle was not felt by many, in opposition 
to the substantial advantasres which had accrued to them 
from their connection with the " mother country;" by 
which endearing term of relationship England had been 
so long distinguished in the colony. South Carolina had, 
indeed, been a favorite plantation of the crown ; and the 
reluctance of thousands in the colony to sever the friend- 
ly bands which had linked them together, was not less 
honorable to their affections, than it had proved prejudi- 
cial to their interests. That the people who were subse- 
quently degraded under the general and opprobrious term 
of " tories," were, in the greater number of instances, gov- 
erned by an honest and loyal, if not a just sense of 
duty, cannot well be questioned. That they were be- 
hind the time, and slow to recognize those necessities 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 133 

which grew up in compliance with the hourly changing 
condition of their country, is equally undeniable. If 
the patriots were too warm, they were too cold. If to 
the one party, the shadows of coming events were beheld 
at too great a distance, to the other, the substance it- 
self appeared little more than a shadow. Unhappily, the 
indiscretion of individuals of both parties, increased the 
differences between them, and the gulf through which 
they had to wade, to sympathy and union in the end, was 
one that dyed their garments in blood, the stains of 
which, to this day, are scarcely obliterated. 

The prompt and decisive measures of the seaboard, 
soon placed that section of the colony in a tolerable state 
of defence. This done, the popular leaders extended 
their precautionary labors to the interior ; but it was not 
so easy, in many parts of the country, to persuade the 
people that such measures were necessary ; and the 
manner of proceeding, on the part of some of the agents 
entrusted with these measures, led to a suspicion among 
the people of the country, that their adversaries intended 
to dragoon them into compliance. This suspicion, art- 
fully encouraged by certain emissaries of the royal 
cause whom the forethought of lord William Campbell 
had sent into the interior, aroused all that fierce spirit of 
independence, which repeated strifes and trials had made 
no less suspicious than active ; and instead of signing 
the document by which the leaders of the lower country 
had pledged their lives and fortunes to each other, in a 
joint opposition to the royal authorities, they entered into 
resolutions to oppose the patriots, to whom they ascribed 
motives and designs as dishonorable as they were un- 

12* 



134 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

founded. Camps were soon fonned of the opposite par- 
ties, and hostile bodies were quickly gathered in arms. 
The tories, or loyalists, who dwelt in the forks between 
Broad and Saluda rivers, were headed by two brothers, 
named Patrick and Robert Cunningham, both remarkably 
well calculated, by courage, strength, and intelligence, to 
be popular leaders in a time of commotion. Robert hav- 
ing shown himself remarkably active in opposition to the 
revolutionists, was arrested by the authority of the coun- 
cil of safety, and committed to the jail of Charlestown. 
This aroused Patrick, who, arming a body of his friends, 
pursued, with the expectation of rescuing his brother. 
He seized, on this occasion, and while in this pursuit, 
a thousand pounds of powder which was passing through 
the settlement at this juncture, and which had been sent 
by the council of safety, as a present to the Cherokee 
Indians. xV report which had been industriously spread, 
that the powder was sent to inflame the Indians to rise 
upon and massacre all those who refused to sign the asso- 
ciation, exasperated the ignorant multitude, and roused 
them to the commission of those acts which placed them 
openly in arms against the country. 

Major Williamson, who commanded the militia on the 
part of congress, went in pursuit of the loyalists who 
had seized the powder ; but he was compelled to retreat 
before superior numbers. They pressed the pursuit, and 
AViliiamson retreated to a stockade fort, where he was 
besieged, and where he suffered from want of water and 
provisions for several days. lie was relieved by a truce, 
under the terms of which both parties retired to their 
homes. But the popular leaders were not satisfied with 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 135 

these events, which led them to apprehend domestic and 
foreign warfare at the same moment, — a British fleet and 
army in front, and a disaffected people in the rear. 
They resolved to enforce obedience, while yet the time 
was allowed them, and sent a force of two thousand 
men, under colonel Richardson, into the refractory settle- 
ment, with instructions to apprehend the leaders of the 
party which had seized the powder, and to do all other 
things necessary to suppress the present, and prevent 
future insurrections. This decisive measure had the de- 
sired eflect. Opposition was overcome ; many of the 
loyalists subscribed the terms proposed by the congress ; 
some of the leaders were made captives, while several 
of them voluntarily abandoned the colony, and fled to 
Florida. It was not until a strong British army appeared 
in the country, that they were emboldened to throw ofl^ 
the mask, and emerge from their hiding places. 

Having quieted their domestic difficulties, the popular 
leaders resumed their preparations against the approach 
of the enemy. Batteries were raised at Georgetown and 
other places ; a fort and magazine were established at 
Dorchester; Charlestown became a garrison ; the advan- 
ced posts were all filled with troops ; and the fort was 
begun on Sullivan's island, by colonel Moultrie, which 
now bears his name, and which, shortly after its erection, 
became identified with his military reputation. Powder 
and arms were gleaned from various sources ; and in 
March, 1776, a congress convened, with the title of a 
general assembly, of which John Rutledge was made 
president, and a temporary constitution fonned for the gov- 
ernment of the state. South Carolina was the first of 



136 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

the colonies that formed an independent constitution. Its 
basis was the fundamental democratic principle, that the 
will of the people is the source of law, honor, and office. 
The same reasons which had arrayed a large portion 
of the Carolinians in opposition to their countrymen, pro- 
voked the especial indignation of the British government. 
The conduct of Carolina was regarded as particularly un- 
gracious. She was selected, therefore, as peculiarly de- 
serving of chastisement. Her sympathy with the wrongs 
of Massachusetts, rather than any injuries done to her- 
self, had been the true cause of her taking part in the con- 
flict. She had few, if any, of those occasions for quar- 
rel, which brought the people of the north into collision 
with those of Europe. She had no manufactories to 
maintain in opposition to those of England — she had no 
shipping or seamen which could enter into competition 
with that marine by means of which Great Britain in- 
dulged a fond ambition to rule the waves. She provided 
the raw material which the other manufactured, and she 
received the manufactured o^oods in exchano^e for her 
productions. The intercourse was simple enough be- 
tween them, and the occasions for conflict were few and 
unimportant. The overweening arrogance of British ofli- 
cers and agents, by offending the self-esteem of her sons — 
a proud and ambitious race — may be enumerated among 
these occasions ; and the jealousies engendered between 
the troops of the province and those of the mother coun- 
try, which led to the affair between colonels Grant and 
Middleton, recorded in a previous chapter, were, without 
doubt, as keenly felt and remembered as they were warm- 
ly indulged at the time of their provocation. These, no 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 137 

doubt, served, much more effectually than the duties on 
stamps or tea, to place Carolina in that attitude of defi- 
ance which she was shortly required to maintain with 
her ablest manhood. 

Before colonel Moultrie had yet put his fort at Sulli- 
van's island, in a condition to meet the foe, fifty sail of Brit- 
ish vessels appeared upon the coast. All was now com- 
motion, if not alarm, among the patriots of Charlestown. 
The troops thronged to the city ; the women and children, 
such as could procure means of flight, were sent into the 
country ; and, with a breathless but stern anxiety, the 
popular leaders prepared for the approaching issue. With 
a high idea of British valor, and an imperfect knowledge 
of their, own resources, the Carolinians did not, however, 
desppnd' gils the appearance of this formidable armament. 
Their force, swelled to five thousand men by the arrival 
of troops from the adjacent states, were placed under the 
command of major general Lee, an officer of the conti- 
nental army. The first regular regiment of South Caro- 
lina, commanded by colonel Gadsden, was stationed at 
Fort Johnson, a small fort on the most northerly point of 
James island, about three miles east from Charlestown, 
and within point blank shot of the channel. The second 
and third regular regiments of Carolina, under the com- 
mand of colonels Moultrie and Thomson, occupied the two 
extremities of Sullivan's island. The other forces were 
assigned places at Haddrell's point, James island, and 
along the bay in front of the town. The stores on the 
wharves were pulled down, and lines of defence, run 
along the water's edge, were manned chiefly by the citi- 
zens. 



138 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

The larger vessels of the British fleet were three days 
employed in getting over the bar. On the 28th day of 
June — a day which should be famous to all succeeding 
time in the annals of Carolina — this fleet, under the com- 
mand of Sir Peter Parker, consisting of two fifty gun 
ships, four frigates, and a number of smaller vessels, ad- 
vanced to the attack. The first object which drew their 
attention, was the little fort of colonel Moultrie, a mere 
speck upon Sullivan's island, which, it was not supposed, 
could maintain any protracted conflict. Such was the 
opinion, not of the British merely, but of general Lee, who 
commanded in Charlestown. He called it a mere slaugh- 
ter house, and asserted that a couple of British frigates 
would knock it about the ears of its defenders in half an 
hour. It was built of palmetto logs, placed in sections, 
which were filled in with earth. The merlons were six- 
teen feet thick, and sufliciently high to cover the men 
against the fire from the tops of the enemy's vessels. 
One part of the fort was unfinished ; but this part, most 
fortunately, was not attacked by the assailants. The pal- 
metto is a tree peculiar to the southern states, the wood 
of which, being remarkably soft and spongy, is singularly 
suited to the purposes of defence against cannon. A bul- 
let entering it makes no splinters nor extended fractures, 
but buries itself in the wood, without doing hurt to the 
parts adjacent. Within the fort was a morass, which 
favored the defenders, as it extinguished the matches of 
such shells as fell within the enclosure. Some of the 
shells thrown on this occasion, were found fifty years 
after, unexploded, with the fuse unconsumed, and the 
missiles with which they were charged, still in their orig- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLHSTA. 139 

inal integrity, — harmless memorials of the direst purpo- 
ses of harm. 

While the British fleet was preparing to attack the fort, 
colonel Thomson, at the head of the third Carolina reg- 
iment, kept the land forces of the enemy, under Sir Hen- 
ry Clinton, in check, at the eastern extremity of the 
island. Between ten and eleven o'clock, the thunder 
bomb vessels began to throw shells. Four of the ships, 
the Active, of twenty-eight guns, the Bristol and Ex- 
periment, each of fifty, and the Solebay, of twenty-eight, 
came boldly on to the attack. A little before eleven 
o'clock the garrison fired four or five shot at the Active, 
while under sail, but without doing hurt. When she came 
near the fort she anchored, with springs on her cables, 
and commenced the battle with a broadside. Her exam- 
ple was followed by the other vessels, and a storm of iron 
was rained upon the little fortress, with the most unre- 
mitting fury. The bomb vessel continued to throw 
shells, until she was disabled ; and amidst the roar of 
three hundred heavy cannon, the courage of the defend- 
ers, who Avere almost wholly natives of Carolina, was 
summoned to its most fearful trial. But their conduct did 
not belie their well-earned reputation, nor leave it doubt- 
ful what would be their course in the war which was to 
ensue. They stood as coolly at their posts as if they had 
been trained veterans. With a limited supply of ammu- 
nition which forbade the constant exercise of their guns, 
they were enabled to time their discharges with regular- 
ity, and direct them with a singular precision of aim 
which told fearfully upon the enemy. 



140 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

At one time, the commodore's sliip, her stays shot 
away, swung round with her stern upon the fort, inviting, 
in that unfavorable situation, the fire of all its guns. For 
a moment every cannon that could be made to bear, belch- 
ed forth its iron upon her. " Mind the commodore, the 
fifty gun ship!" was the cry, echoed by men and officers, 
along the whole range of the little battery. Dreadfully 
did she sufler from this attention. Her scuppers ran with 
blood ; her quarter deck was twice swept of every man 
but her commander, and he himself narrowly escaped 
with two wounds, which disabled him. AVith a loss in 
killed and wounded of more than one hundred men, she 
was at length, but with some difficulty, withdrawn from 
the action. 

Nor was the loss of the other vessels, comparatively 
speaking, much less. That of the Experiment, in slain, 
was greater. Her captain was maimed, fifty-seven of 
her men killed, and thirty M^ounded. 

The battle lasted till near nine o'clock in the evening, 
and tbe ammunition of the little fortress was exhausted 
during its continuance. This led to the belief, on the part 
of the assailants, that the defence had ceased, and they 
sent up three vigorous cheers in token of their satisfaction. 
But a fresh supply of powder, from the city, soon unde- 
ceived them. The battle was renewed with ten-fold fury, 
and though the imperfect structure which sheltered the 
Carolinians, reeled and trembled to its base at every broad- 
side which they fired, they kept to their guns, resolved to 
meet the invaders behind the crumbling ruins, rather than 
yield in a conflict upon which were equally staked the 
pride and the possession of their country. 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 141 

By a mishap of the invaders, which was of the most 
providential good to the garrison, they were deprived, al- 
most in the beginning of the conflict, of one of their most 
formidable means of annoyance. Three vessels, the 
Sphynx, the Active, and the Syren, were sent round to 
attack the western extremity of the fort, which was so 
unfinished as to afford a very imperfect cover to the men 
at the guns, not only in that, but in almost every other 
part of the structure. These vessels, in aiming to effect 
their object, got entangled with a shoal called the Middle 
Ground, and ran foul of each other. The Active stuck 
fast, and was finally abandoned by her crew and destroy- 
ed; but not before a detachment of the Carolinians had 
boarded her, and discharged her loaded cannon at hex 
retreating consorts. The Syren and Sphynx got off and 
escaped ; but not till they had suffered too many injuries 
to enable them to take any farther share in the battle. 

The fire of the fort was chiefly directed against the 
Bristol and Experiment, both of which suffered severely 
and equally in hull, masts, and rigging. The Bristol had 
forty men killed and seventy-one wounded. She was 
hulled in several places, and but for the smoothness of 
the water, must have filled and sunk. Lord William 
Campbell, late royal governor of the province, acting as a 
volunteer on board, received a wound which ultimately 
proved fatal. The loss of the garrison was but ten men 
killed, and twice that number wounded. The shot of the 
British flew over the fort, or buried themselves in the soft 
wood of the palmetto. 

One of its defenders distinguished himself by an instance 
of daring which alone has made him famous. In the be- 

13 



143 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

ginning of the action, the flag staff was shot away. The 
flag of Carolina, in her first battle for independence, was 
a simple stripe of blue cloth, bearing a silver crescent. 
Sergeant Jasper, of the grenadiers, immediately leaped 
over, upon the beach, and, amid the hottest fire of the foe, 
recovered the ensign, ascended the merlon and deliberate- 
ly restored it to its place. Another brave man, sergeant 
Macdonald, mortally wounded by a cannon-ball, still con- 
tinued to cry aloud to his comrades to maintain the lib- 
erties of his country. His words of patriotic exhorta- 
tion, coupled with his name, have survived his own suf- 
ferings and the thunders of that fearful day. 



CHAPTER XIV, 

The result of this ill conducted expedition contributed 
greatly to establish the popular government in the affec- 
tions of the people. It quieted the fears of the many and 
overcame the opposition of the few ; the revolutionists 
exulted and the royalists were silenced. The doubtful 
grew confident in the success of a cause thus prosperously 
begun, while the patriotic appealed to it for the confirma- 
tion of every thing which had been predicted. Experi- 
ence had now shown that a British fleet might be success- 
fully resisted ; and this conviction, alone, was of the most 
beneficial importance to the cause of the revolution. It 
emboldened the popular spirit, and drew forth, in aid of 
the colony, many who had hitherto withheld themselves 
because of an exaggerated estimate which they had made, 
of the power of Great Britain to quell the rebellion at a 
blow. Perhaps it had its disadvantages, also, as it inspir- 
ed presumption instead of confidence ; — leading the Caroli- 
nians into a false security, and making them neglectful of 
those precautions which, in a state of war, are the only 
just guarantees of complete success. 

Among the fruits which this battle produced, was a lib- 
eral concession of favor to the loyalists at home, by the 
leaders of the revolutionary party. Victory, which in- 
spires generosity in all noble foes, prompted the Carolini- 
ans to set free the leaders of the opposition, whom they 
had taken into custody. There may have been some pol- 



144 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



icy in this. The state wished to conciliate their friend- 
ship rather than provoke their hostility, and restored them 
to the rights and privileges of the citizen. But the venom 
was not withdrawn with the weapon. Their minds rank- 
led under a sense of injury, which was increased rather 
than diminished by the defeat of the British arms ; and 
they remembered, in bitterness and blood, in long succeed- 
ing years of strife, the mortifications to which they had 
been exposed, and the wrongs which they believed them- 
selves to have sutTered. 

The successful defence of Fort Moultrie gave a respite 
of three years to South Carolina, from the calamities of 
war. In that period, however, the Carolinians were not 
suffered to be idle. Two expeditions were projected 
against Florida, where large bodies of British and royal- 
ists were banded together, — but they both proved abortive. 
Better success attended the arms of the state in an inva- 
sion of the Cherokee country. There, the active machi- 
nations of John Stuart, an officer of the crown, had suc- 
ceeded in exasperating the Indians against the Americans, 
and in rousing them to arms. A plan was arranged by 
Stuart, in concert with the royal governors, to land a Brit- 
ish army in Florida, which, uniting with the Indians on the 
western frontiers of Carolina, and the tories in Florida and 
elsewhere, would fall upon the back parts of the state, at 
the same time that a fleet and army should invade it on the 
sea coast. 

The plan was fortunately discovered by the Carolinians, 
and timely preparations led to its partial defeat ; but so ac- 
tive had been the royal emissaries among the Cherokees, 
ths^t, simultaneously with the battle of Fort Moultrie, they 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 145 

commenced their massacres upon the frontiers. This in- 
vasion was marked by the usual barbarities of Indian war- 
fare. Poorly provided with arms, the borderers betook 
themselves to stockade forts, in which they were shut up. 
Col, Williamson, who was charged with the defence of the 
back country, succeeded in raising a force of five hundred 
men. A small affair with the Indians, in which they 
were defeated, led to a discovery which opened a new 
and bloody page in southern history. Thirteen of their 
number, who were taken, proved to be white men, disfigu- 
red, disguised, and painted so as to resemble Indians. 
Henceforth, a warfare between the civilized was to ensue, 
so savage in its atrocities as to justify the description 
given of it by general Greene, who asserts that the "par- 
ties pursued each other like wild beasts." Other states 
knew nothing of the horrors which were the consequence 
of the domestic feuds of the south. The news of the 
defeat of the British fleet produced the best eflfects when it 
reached the theatre of this bloody warfare. The patriots 
were encouraged, the tories dispirited. The former turn- 
ed out with alacrity, and Williamson soon found himself 
at the head of twelve hundred men. With a detachment 
of three hundred horse, he advanced upon a tory and In- 
dian force at Occnoree creek. His approach was known, 
an ambuscade laid for him, and he found himself in the 
thick of a desperate conflict, for which he was only 
partially prepared. His horse was shot under him, an 
officer slain at his side, and under a dreadful fire his army 
thrown into disorder. 

It was rallied by colonel Hammond, the thicket was 
charged and the day retrieved. Marching through the 

13* 



146 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Indian settlements, Williamson proceeded to lay them 
waste. With an army of two thousand men, he pen- 
etrated their country where the people were most nu- 
merous. Entering a narrow delile, enclosed on each 
side by mountains, a second ambuscade awaited him. 
Twelve hundred warriors from the surrounding heights, 
poured in a constant fire upon his troops, from which they 
were only saved by the charge of the bayonet. The In- 
dians fled after a severe conflict, in which they lost ground 
rather than men. The Carolinians suffered severely from 
their fire. W^illiamson proceeded on his task of destruc- 
tion, which in a short time was made complete. Penetra- 
ting their planted and beautiful vallies, he destroyed their 
crops and villages. All their settlements eastward of the 
Apalachian mountains were laid waste; and to avoid 
starvation, Ave hundred of their warriors fled to join the 
royalists, in Florida. The conquest of the country was 
complete, and the Cherokees sued for peace. They were 
compelled to cede to South Carolina, all their lands beyond 
the mountains of Unacaya., These lands form at this 
moment, the flourishing districts of Greenville, Anderson, 
and Pickens. 

The declaration of American independence, by the 
congress at Philadelphia, followed hard upon the battle 
of Fort Moultrie. The latter event took place on the 
28th of June ; the former on the 4th of July following, 
1776. The representatives of South Carolina in the 
continental congress, at this exciting period, were 
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Hey ward, Thomas Lynch, 
and Arthur Middleton. For this event South Carolina 
had been long prepared. She had in fact maintained 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 147 

an independent government for two years before ; and 
the solemn declaration of her own and the liberty of 
her sister states, while it gave a more imposing aspect to 
the revolution, could not well add any thing to the firmness 
of her resolution, or the determined character of her op- 
position to the royal authority. It was received with 
welcome by the greater number of her people, amidst 
the ringing of bells, the beating of drums, and the 
discharge of cannon. 

For nearly three years after the battle of Fort Moultrie, 
the arms of the British were, employed at the northward. 
South Carolina, during this period, felt few of the suffer- 
ings of war, other than those which we have just narrated. 
She was in possession of a lucrative commerce, and her 
people were fortunate and prosperous. In 1777 and '78 
Charlestown was the mart which supplied with goods 
most of the states south of New Jersey. An extensive 
inland traffic sprung up, in consequence of the presence 
of the British fleets upon the northern coasts, in which 
a thousand wagons were constantly employed. The pros- 
perity which followed this trade was an additional argument 
in favor of the revolution. The American alliance with 
France, by giving them a new importance in the eyes 
of so great a foreign power, was another ; and three cam- 
paigns which the united forces of America had sustained, 
if not with brilliant success, at least with a decree of man- 
hood which utterly falsified those prophets who had 
predicted their annihilation under the crushing power of 
the British lion, — contributed to confirm the people of 
South Carolina in a resolution to be their own masters, 
from which they never afterwards departed ; though, in 



148 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

process of time, victory fled from her banner, and defeat 
upon defeat followed her fortunes, and threatened the ruin 
of her fondest hopes. A flag sent into the port of Charles- 
town, under which the commissioners of Great Britain to 
the Americans denounced the extremities of war against 
her, if she continued to prefer the alliance of France to a 
reunion with the mother country, was met by the instant 
defiance of her government, by which the flag vessel was 
commanded to depart immediately from the waters of the 
state. 

The campaign of 1779 opened with a renewal of the 
British hostilities against South Carolina. Savannah 
had lallon the year before, and in the rapid extension 
of the British arms, under colonel Campbell, over the 
state of Georgia, South Carolina had become a frontier. 
The proximity of her enemy called for early preparation, 
and major general Lincoln, of the continental army, was. 
chosen to command her troops and conduct the defence 
of her territory. This gentleman was particularly dcsig-< 
nated by the leading patriots of the south for the station 
which was assigned him. He brought to the southward 
great reputation, and, under many disadvantages and a 
small army, preserved the state for fifteen months against 
a superior enemy ^ still it may be permitted us to wish 
henceforward, that the commandei-s of our troops may be 
found among our own people, with a knowledge of the 
character and interests of those whom they defend, and 
an equal knowledge of the soil, the situation and circum- 
stances under which they fight. Commanders wanting 
in this knowledge, have led many thousand gallant men 
to defeat, when they might have been led to victory. 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 149 

The continentals in South Carolina, under the command 
of Lincoln, did not exceed six hundred men. The rest 
of his force consisted of militia, whose term of service 
changed every second or third month. He established 
his first post at Purysburg, on the Savannah river, for the 
purpose of maintaining a watch upon the movements of 
the British army in Georgia. Moultrie was stationed 
at Port Royal island, from whence he drove major 
Gardiner, at the head of a British force two hundred 
strong, which had been sent from the royal army at Sa- 
vannah for its capture, and to explore the way for a greater 
enterprise. His own force, wholly of Charlestown mili- 
tia, comprised about the same number of men. The 
British suffered severely, and lost nearly all their officers. 

This little success prevented their contemplated invasion 
of South Carolina for a time, and they confined their ope- 
rations to the upper country, where their emissaries were 
active among the tories. Hundreds of these were now 
embodied upon the western frontier of the state. Here 
they were encountered by colonel Pickens, at the head 
of three hundred men. After a vigorous contest of nearly 
an hour, the royalists were defeated with great slaughter, 
their commander, colonel Boyd, being among the slain. 
The prisoners taken, were tried as traitors to South Car- 
olina, of which they were subjects, and to which they 
owed obedience. A regular jury determined on their 
oflfence, and seventy of them were condemned to death — 
a sentence, however, carried into effect upon five only of 
the principal leaders. The rest were pardoned. 

The failure of this second insurrection of the tories, 
and the severity of their punishment, defeated their plans 



150 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

for a time, and deprived them of their vigor. Unsup- 
ported by the British, they fled and dispersed themselves 
over the country, while a few sent in their adhesion to the 
new government and cast themselves upon its mercy. 

As the British extended their posts on the south side of 
the Savannah, Lincoln made encampments at Black 
Swamp and opposite Savannah. From these points, he 
crossed the river in two divisions, with the view of limit- 
ing the operations of the enemy to the sea coasts of 
Georgia only. In the execution of this design, he sent 
general Ashe, with fifteen hundred North Carolinians and 
a few Georgians, across the river at a point a little above 
the British army. Ashe proceeded to Briar Creek, where 
he suffered himself to be surprised by lieutenant colonel 
Prevost ; the militia were thrown into confusion and fled 
at the first fire. Several were killed, many were drowned 
in attempting to cross the river, and a large number was 
made captive. Sixty men, the few continentals under 
colonel Elbert, attached to Ashe's army, fought with the 
greatest bravery, but were forced to surrender. 

This unhappy event deprived Lincoln of one-fourth of 
his army, and opened a communication between the 
British, the tories and Indians of the states of North 
and South Carolina. It also emboldened Prevost to 
undertake an expedition of considerable daring, which 
was almost successful. Availing himself of the critical 
moment when Lincoln, with the main force of the south- 
ern army, was one hundred and fifty miles up the Savan- 
nah river, he crossed with two thousand chosen troops, 
flanked by several hundred Indians and loyalists, and pres- 
sed on with all despatch for the conquest of Charlestown. 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 151 

Moultrie had been left in command at Piirysbm'g with 
one thousand militia. With this inferior force, he threw 
himself in the path of the British general, striving, while 
retreating to the defence of the city, to impede his pro- 
gress as much as he could, and gain time for the citizens 
to improve their fortifications. Lincoln could not be per- 
suaded that the march of Prevost was any more than a 
feint by which to divert him from his operations in 
Georgia. When the real object of the enterprising 
enemy was ascertained, the American general set forth 
with all possible expedition on his return. But for the 
firmness of Moultrie, and the zeal of the citizens, he 
would have arrived too late. When Prevost crossed the 
Savannah river, Charlestown was almost defenceless. 
Invasion on the land side, while Moultrie lay at Purys- 
burg, and Lincoln was in Georgia, was an event so 
unexpected, that no provision had been made against it ; 
but zeal compensated for past remissness, and a brief 
delay of Prevost along the road, lost him the prize he 
aimed for. 

This delay enabled the citizens to fortify Charleston 
neck with lines and an abbatis. The militia in the 
vicinity were collected. The whole country was in 
commotion. Five several armies were marching for 
the capital. Moultrie, with his thousand men, pressed 
by Prevost, was hurrying in, less with the view to his 
own safety than to throw himself into the city. Lincoln, 
with four thousand men, seeking to recover lost ground 
and time, was pressing on the footsteps of Prevost. 
Rutledge, governor of the state, with six hundred militia 
from Orangeburg, and colonel Harris with a detachment 



152 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

from Augusta of two hundred and fifty, were seeking to 
re-inforce Moultrie. These three last reached Charleston 
in season. 

On the 11th of May, nine hundred of the British army 
crossed the Ashley river ferry and appeared before the 
lines. Their cavalry were encountered as they advan- 
ced, by the infantry of an American legion, imder count 
Pulaski, a distinguished Polish exile. A bloody conflict 
ensued, in which the Americans were forced to retreat ; 
but not till they had shown a degree of desperate courage 
which inspired equal confidence in the citizens and 
caution in the enemv. 

The whole army of the British took post about a mile 
above the lines. Unfurnished for a seige, their only hope 
of success lay in an assault ; and to meet this, the garri- 
son stood to their arms all night. A false alarm during 
the night, led to a general discharge of musketry and 
field pieces along the city lines, by which unfortunate 
mistake, major Benjamin Huger, at the head of a patrol, 
was killed with twelve of his party. 

The next day the surrender of the town was demanded 
by Prevost ; and in the temporary panic which his presence 
with so strong a force inspired, the proposal w^as actually 
entertained by a portion of the citizens. The negotiation 
was finally left to Moultrie, whose answer was an unhes- 
itating, defiance. "I will save the city," was the confi- 
dent answer of this brave man, and it restored the confi- 
dence of the citizens. The assault was not even attempted. 
The firmness of the citizens, and the approach of Lincoln 
with his army, determined Prevost to forego the conquest 
so nearly in his grasp. He decamped that night, being 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 153 

warned by an intercepted letter from Lincoln, that the 
delay of another day would compromise the safety of his 
whole army. 

Prevost hurried to James island, where he committed 
some petty depredations. He was closely watched by 
the force under Lincoln, and on the 20th of June, detach- 
ments from the two armies encountered near Stono 
ferry. The British, to the number of seven hundred 
men, had entrenched themselves, having three redoubts 
with a line of communication. Field pieces were planted 
in the intervals, and the whole was secured by an abbatis. 
The American detachment numbered twelve hundred men. 
That the enemy might be harassed, or lulled into security, 
they were alarmed by small parties, for several nights 
preceding the action. When the real assault was 
made, two companies of the seventy-first regiment sallied 
out to support the pickets. These were charged with 
so much valor, that but nine of their number got safely 
within the lines. All the men at the British field pieces 
were either killed or wounded ; but after an attack of an 
hour and twenty minutes, the victory was taken from the 
grasp of the assailants by the appearance of a re-inforce- 
ment. The Americans were drawn off in good order, 
without loss ; and the enemy, availing themselves of the 
respite, fled by way of the islands to Port Royal, from 
whence they made their way to Savannah. 

Thus ended the second expedition of the British 
against the metropolis of South Carolina. 

14 



CHAPTER XV. 

This invasion of general Prevosfc was creditable nei- 
ther to the valor nor the honor of British soldiers. His 
troops distinguished themselves by predatory depreda- 
tions only. Private houses were robbed of their plate, 
persons of their jewels ; the very vaults of the dead were 
broken into for concealed treasures, and three thousand 
slaves were carried off and sold to the planters of the 
West Indies. Numbers of these unfortunate people, fol- 
lowing the camp of the British, fell victims to disease, 
being left to perish without medicine or attendance, 
wherever they sank down. Hundreds of them expired 
of camp fever on Otter island, their unburied carcasses 
being surrendered to the beasts of the forest. For years 
after, the island was strewed with bleaching bones, — a 
miserable memorial of their own folly, and of the inhu- 
manity of those who first seduced them from their homes, 
and then left them to perish. 

A brief calm succeeded the action of Stono, in the 
affairs of Carolina. The Americans and British retired 
to their respective encampments, until the arrival of a 
French fleet on the coast aroused them to immediate 
activity. This fleet, commanded by count D'Estaing, 
consisted of twenty sail of the line. Its arrival at once 
led to the adoption of a joint resolution of the allied 
troops, to attack Savannah ; and orders were issued to 
the mihtia of Carolina and Georgia, to rendezvous in the 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 155 

neighborhood. Flushed with the belief that the fall of 
Savannah was certain, the Americans turned out with 
alacrity, and on the 16th of September, 1779, Savannah, 
beleaguered by the united force of Lincoln and D'Estaing, 
was summoned to surrender. The garrison requested 
twenty-four hours to consider the demand. Unhappily, 
this delay was allowed, and the fortunate moment lost, in 
which an assault might have proved effectual. In that 
time, a detachment of British troops, which had been sta- 
tioned at Beaufort, under the command of lieutenant colo- 
nel Maitland, succeeded in throwing itself into the belea- 
guered city. 

The arrival of such a re-inforcement determined the 
garrison to risk an assault. The besiegers were reduced 
to the necessity either of storming or regularly besieging 
the place. The former measure was resolved upon. 
On the evening of the 23d, they broke ground, and on 
the 4th of October following, opened a fire upon the city 
from nine mortars and thirty seven pieces of cannon from 
the land side, and sixteen from the river. These contin- 
ued to play with little intermission for four days, but 
without making any serious impression on the defences 
of the place. Preparations were then made for an as- 
sault. This measure was forced on D'Estaing, by the 
necessity of withdrawing his fleet without delay from a 
coast which is so dangerous to shipping at such a season 
of the year. The morning of the 9th of October was 
fixed upon for the attack. Two feints were made with 
the country militia, and a real attack on the Spring Hill 
battery, with 2500 French troops, 600 continentals and 
350 of the Charlestown militia ; the whole being Jed by 



156 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

D'Estaincr and Lincoln. The assault was ordered to 
take place at 4 o'clock in the morning; but some miscal- 
culations having been made, it was broad day light when 
the troops advanced to the attack, when all their move- 
ments were perceptible to the enemy. 

By the desertion of a grenadier the night before the 
assault, the British were also apprised of the contempla- 
ted arrangements, and were enabled to strengthen them- 
selves in the Spring Hill battery by additional forces, 
which were withdrawn from those points against which 
the feints were to be made. Under these disadvantages, 
the allied troops nevertheless marched forward with 
great boldness to the assault, but under a heavy and well 
directed fire, not only from the batteries, but from several 
armed gallies which lay in the river and threw their 
shot directly across their path. This cross-fire did such 
fearful execution as to throw the front of the column into 
confusion. A general retreat was commanded, after it 
had stood the enemy's fire for fifty-five minutes ; bat not 
before the ramparts were carried by the South Carolina 
regiment. Lieutenants Hume and Bush planted its col- 
ors upon the walls, but they were shot down a moment 
after. These colors had been presented to the regiment 
for its gallant conduct at Fort Moultrie. It was a point 
of honor that they should not be lost. Lieutenant Gray 
endeavored to save them, and received his mortal wound 
in the attempt. Jasper, the brave man who replanted the 
crescent flag of Fort Moultrie on the merlon in the hottest 
fire of the foe, was more successful. He bore them back 
from the bloody heights and delivered them in safety to 
his comrades ; but he too received a mortal wound in 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 157 

doing SO, and died in a little time after. Dearly did the 
little regiment pay for the preservation of this object of 
military pride. 

In this unfortunate attempt upon Savannah, the combi- 
ned armies sustained a heavy loss. D'Estaing himself 
received two wounds, and nearly a thousand men were 
slain or wounded in the brief but sanguinary conflict 
which ensued. 

After this repulse, the idea of taking the place by 
regular approaches was resumed, but soon discarded. 
D'Estaing was uneasy at the exposed situation of his 
fleet ; and the militia w^ere no less anxious to return to 
their homes. The leaguer was conducted without spirit 
and was soon discontinued. D'Estaing' soon after re-em- 
barked and left the continent, while Lincoln returned to 
Charlestown. With this affair, the campaign of 1779 
ended in the south. The arrival of the French, if pro- 
ductive of no other good, served for awhile to confine 
the British to the ramparts of Savannah, prevent them 
from overrunning the back settlements of Georgia and 
Carolina, and bringing into activity the malignant and 
discontented partizans of royalty, who were scattered in 
great numbers throughout the country. 

But this respite was of brief duration. The failure of 
the attack upon Savann?h, prepared the way for the fall 
of Charlestown. The departure of the French fleet re- 
moved the chief obstacles to this enterprise. There 
were several other concurring causes that invited the 
invasion of Charlestown. An unfortunate expedition 
against Florida had totally broken up the Southern army. 
The Carolina regiments were thinned, by sickness, to 

14* 



158 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

mere skeletons ; the northern forces were all melted 
away, chiefly by the expiration of their time of enlist- 
ment. The Georgia regiments filled the prison ships of 
the invaders. The possession of Georgia by the British 
disarmed the patriotic citizens, and gave strength and 
activity to the royalists and Indians. South Carolina 
was, in brief, a frontier, on three sides hemmed in by 
bitter and uncompromising enemies. The loyalists of 
North Carolina, Georgia and Florida, — the Indians al- 
ways ready for war, which is a kindred life with that of 
the hunter — were gathering in restless and roving bands 
upon her borders. The conquest of Charlestown promis- 
ed to be easy, and with its possession, particularly if the 
southern army should fall with it, the British ascendancy 
in the south would be complete. The reduction of the 
whole state, and probably that of North Carolina, would 
ensue ; and no obstacle would then remain in the way of 
an uninterrupted backward path of conquest through 
Viroinia, from the Savannah to the Delaware. The 
enemy were also well acquainted with the embarrassments 
of the state in procuring men and money. Of the six 
regiments of South Carolina, but 800 men could be rai- 
sed ; and so miserably depreciated was the value of her 
paper, that the price of a pair of shoes was seven hundred 
dollars. The invasion of Carolina was resolved upon. 

On the eleventh of February, 1780, the British army 
landed within thirty miles of Charlestown. The ap- 
proach of danger led to the immediate action of the 
people. The assembly, then in session, dissolved, after 
having conferred upon John Rutledge, the powers, with 
some limitation, of the dictator in ancient republics. He 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 159 

was commissioned to see that the "republic sustained no 
harm." With these powers, he issued a proclamation 
commanding the militia to repair to the garrison ; but this 
proclamation produced very little effect. The people of 
the country were unwilling to leave their plantations 
unprotected, and have always been particularly averse to 
being cooped up in a besieged town. Had Sir Henry 
Clinton, the commander-in-chief of the invading army, 
at once advanced against the city, it must have fallen in 
a few days. But that cautious commander, a good sol- 
dier, but one not formed for brilliant or prompt achieve- 
ments, adopted the slow mode of regular investiture. 
At Wappoo, on James island, he formed a depot and built 
fortifications. More than a month elapsed after his first 
landing, before he crossed Ashley river. On the first of 
April he broke ground at the distance of eleven hundred 
yards, and at successive periods erected five batteries on 
Charlestown neck. His ships of war about the same 
time crossed the bar, and passing Fort Moultrie with a 
fair wind, avoided a second regular combat with that 
fortress. They were not, however, suffered to pass with- 
out a heavy penalty. Colonel Pinckney, who commanded 
at the fort, kept up a brisk and severe fire upon them, 
and did great execution. The ships generally sustained 
considerable damage. Twenty-seven seamen were kil- 
led or wounded. The fore-top-mast of the Richmond 
was shot away, and the Acetus ran aground near Had- 
drell's point, and was destroyed by her crew, under a 
heavy fire from two field pieces commanded by colonel 
Gadsden. The crew escaped in boats. The royal fleet 
came to anchor within long shot of the town batteries. 



\00 vnv HisrouY of vsouru <\vkomn.\. 

l'\nt Mtuihrio. boiiii; iu>w of loss uso ihuu tlio inoii who 
iuai\m\l it. thov woro in i^roat pari wiilulrawn. aiiil it soon 
toll into tho IkuhIs ot" tho ononiv. C'oKnu^l ruuknoy's 
toroo, tom^iun" with that \\ luoli h;ul stMvod to man tho 
small tloot ot' tho AnuMaoans. m as tianst'onanl to tho oity, 
whoio tlu^v holpoil to swoll tho moonsulorablo ninnbors 
ot" tho iiairison. This t'moo at no timo aniountoil to lour 
thousand mon ; \\\c\ wcvc ii\iuiroil to ilotiMul an o\t<M\t ot' 
works whioh oouKl not bo w oil niannt\l by loss than ttM\ 
ihousaud ; vot. tM imi tor tins small armv. a sntVu lonl ijnan- 
ntv ot" provisions had \\o\ hccw I'lirnisluHl. and InMort' tho 
siOi^o was ovor. tho i-iti/.ons wiM'o sntViMini; tVom star- 
vation. 

Hut tho iiarrisim, though t"otddo. was mmlun- idlo nor 
dispiritod. Tho tiold wanks whu h had Ihumi thrown up 
aii'ainst tho invasion ot Ihovos!. wtno slronmhoiual and 
oxtondod. l,ini\s ot dot"onoi\ and rodoiibts. wort^ strtMoh- 
od aovoss Charlostown nook. tVoui Coopor to Ashloy riv- 
or. In trout ot" tho linos was a stroui:^ abbatis, 'ind a wot 
diioh piokottod on tho luvirost sulo. Poi^p holos wore 
diiii. at short ilislanoos. boiwt\M\tlu^ liiu^s and tho abbatis. 
Tho linos woro mado partioularlv strinii;- im iho ri^ht and 
lot't, and so oonstruoloil as lo rako tho w tS ditoh m its 
wholo oxtont. In tho ooniro was a strmiL; iitadol. Chi 
tlie sidos oi tho town, and whorovor tho imomy oouhl 
otVoot a landiiii:. works w tno thrown up. Tho oontinon- 
tals. with tho C'harlostown ariillory. n\anuod tho linos in 
I'ront ot" tho t'oo on tho nook. Tho works on South l>ay 
aiul othor parts ot" tho town, whioh woro loss exposed, 
woro ilotondod bv tho militia. 



TJJi; /JIH'JORV Of KOr/TH CAROJ-I.'.A. IGl 

The rnaririo forcf; of tlic Ch;irlcsUjniar)S liad boon 
increased hy coriv'(;rUrj;/ s^^veral 8choofier« into gallie«, and 
by two arjned whips which had b(;';n purchased from the 
French. The inferior numbers of tlic garrison forbaxl 
any serious attempts to oppose the descent of the lirilish 
upon the main, but did not prevent several litthj affairs, in 
which bolii officers and men exhibited no less spirit than 
good conduct, in one oftfjese, a corps of light infantry, 
commanded by lieutenant colonel Jobn Laurens, encoun- 
tered the advance guard of the British in a skirmish of 
particular severity. Though the lines of Charlestown 
were field works only, Sir Henry Clinton made his 
advances with great caution. At the completion of his 
first parallel, the town was summoned U) surrender. 
Its defiance was the sign?jl for tbe batteries on both sides 
to open, which they did with great animation on the 12th 
of April. 

The fire of the besiegers soon showed iinelf to be far 
superior to that of the besieged. The former liad the 
advantage of twenty-one mortars and royals, — the latter 
possessed but two ; and their lines soon began to crumble 
under tlie weighty cannonade maintained against them. 
The British lines of approach continued to advance, and 
the second parallel was completed by the 20th, at the dis- 
tance of three hundred yards from the besieged. The 
Americans soon perceived the hopelessness of their 
situation. Councils of war were called, and terms of 
capitulation offered to the besiegers, which were instantly 
rejected and the conflict was resumed. The weakness 
of the garrison prevented any sallies. The only one 
made during the siege, took place soon after the rejection 



162 THK HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

of these offers. Lieutenant colonel Henderson led out 
two hundred men, attacked the advanced flanking party 
of the enemy, killed several and brought in eleven pris- 
oners. In this affair, captain Moidtrie, of the South Car- 
olina line, was among the slain. On the SOth of April, 
a plan of retreat by night, was proposed in council, but 
rejected as impracticable. On the Otli of May, Clinton 
renewed his former terms for the surrender of the garri- 
son. At this time the flesh provisions of the city were 
not suflicient for a week's rations. There was no pros- 
pect either of supplies or re-inforcements. The engin- 
eers admitted that the lines could not be maintained ten 
days longi^r, and might be carried by assault in ten 
minutes. General Lincoln was disposed to accept Clin- 
ton's offer, but he was opposed by the citizens, who were 
required by Clinton to be considered prisoners on parole. 
To their suggestion of other terms, they received for 
answer that hostilities should be renewed at 8 o'clock. 
When that hour arrived, the garrison looked lor the most 
vigorous assaidt, and prepared, with a melancholy defi- 
ance, to meet the assailants at their ruined bulwarks. 
But an hour elapsed without a gun being fircnl. Both 
armies seemed to dread the consequences of an assault, 
and to wish for a continuance of the truce. At nine in 
the evening, the batteries of the garrison were re-opened, 
and being answered by those of llu^ British, the flght was 
resumed with more vigor and execution than had been 
displayed at any time from the bcgirming of the siege. 
Ships and gallics, the forts on James and John's islands, 
on Wappoo, and the main army on the neck, united in 
one voluminous discharge of iron upon the devoted gar- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 1G3 

rison. Shells and carcasses were thrown incessantly into 
all parts of the town, and from all the points around it, 
covered hy the cannon of the assailants. The city was 
on fire in several places ; and, by this time, the third 
parallel of the enemy being completed, the rifles of the 
Hessian jagers wc^rc fired at so small a distance, and 
■with so much effect, that the defenders could no lonjrcr 
show themselves above the lines with safety. 

On the 11th the British crossed the wet ditch by sap, 
and advanced within twenty-five yards of the besieged. 
All farther defence was hopeless, and Lincoln found 
himself obliged to capitulate, lie had maintained his 
post with honor, but unsuccessfully. For three months, 
with less than four thousand ill fed, ill clothed, and 
unpractised militia, he had baffled more than ten thousand 
of the best troops in the British service. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The ill success of this first attempt, in the American 
war, to defend a city, approves of the general policy of 
Washington on this subject. The sterner wisdom, by 
which the city should have been sacrificed to the preser- 
vation of the army, would have produced far less evil to 
the state. The conquest of the interior rapidly followed 
the loss of the city. The troops, which might have suc- 
cessfully bafiiedthe march of the invader through the for- 
ests, were in his power ; and his progress, for awhile, was 
almost entirely uninterrupted through the country. Lieu- 
tenant-colonel Tarleton, of the British army, a soldier 
more remarkable for the rapidity of his movements than 
for his talents, and more notorious for the sanguinary war- 
fare which he pursued in Carolina than for any other bet- 
ter qualities, commenced a cai'eer of victory, as a cavalry 
leader, soon after the landing of the enemy, which was 
continued for a long period after, with little interruption. 
While Clinton was pressing the siege of the city, he 
achieved sundry small but complete successes, that de- 
prived the garrison of most of those advantages which ne- 
cessarily must have resulted from their keeping a body of 
troops in the field. On the 18th of March, 1780, he sur- 
prised a partv of eighty militia men, at the Salke-hatchie 
brido-e, manv of whom were slain and wounded, and the 
rest dispersed. He was equally successful, a few days 
after, against a second party, which he siurprised near 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 165 

Ponpon. On the 27th, he encountered lieutenant-colonel 
Washington, at the head of a regular corps of horse, be- 
tween the Ashley river ferry, and Rantowle's bridge on 
the Stono. Theadvantagelay with the Americans. The 
cavalry of the British legion was driven back, and lost 
seven persons ; but, wanting infantry, Washington did not 
venture to pursue. At the beginning of the siege, gene- 
ral Lincoln ordered the regular cavalry, three hundred in 
number, to keep the field, and the country militia were 
required to support them as infantry. The militia, on vari- 
ous pretences, refused to attach themselves to the caval- 
ry ; and this important body of horse was surprised at 
Monk's Corner, by a superior force under lieutenant-col- 
onels Tarleton and Webster. About twenty-five of the 
Americans were killed and taken. The fugitives found 
shelter in the neighboring swamps, from whence they 
made their way across the Santee. Under the conduct 
of captain White, they recrossedthe Santee a few weeks 
after this event, captured a small British party, and car- 
ried them to Lenud's ferry. They were followed closely 
by Tarleton, with a superior force, and charged before they 
could get over the ferry. Retreat was impracticable, and 
resistance proved unavailing. A total rout ensued. A 
party of the American force, under major Call, cut their 
way through the British, and escaped. Lieutenant-colo- 
nel Washington, with another party, saved themselves by 
swimming the Santee. Thirty were killed, wounded, or 
taken ; the remainder found refuge in the swamps. 

These repeated disasters were not the only consequen- 
ces arising from the fall of Charlestown. That event was 
followed by a train of circumstances, which, while they 

15 



166 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

disgraced the British soldiery, exhausted the spirits and 
resources of the country. The invasion of Prevost, record- 
ed in a previous chapter, had been followed by scenes of 
devastation, and acts of pillage, which would have shamed 
a Tartar banditti. But these acts were ascribed to the 
tories and Indians in his retinue. The invasion of 
Charlestown was notorious from like causes ; but the loy- 
alists and Indians were no longer obnoxious to the 
charge. The royal troops were the robbers, and their 
commanders openly shared in the proceeds of the plunder. 
Thousands of slaves were shipped to a market in the 
West Indies. Mercantile stores, gold and silver plate, in- 
digo, the produce of the country, became equally convert- 
ible to the purposes of these wholesale plunderers, with 
whom nothing went amiss. They plundered by system, 
forming a general stock, and designating commissaries 
of captures. Spoil, collected in this way, was sold for 
the benefit of the royal army ; and some idea of the quan- 
tity brought to market, may be formed, from the fact, that 
though prices must have been necessarily low in so small 
a community, yet the division of a major-general was 
more than four thousand guineas. Apart from what w^as 
sold in Carolina, several vessels were sent abroad for a 
market, laden with the rich spoils taken from the inhab- 
itants. 

The capital having surrendered, the next object of the 
British was to secure the general submission of the state. 
To this end, the victors marched with a large body of troops 
over the Santee, towards the populous settlements of 
North Carolina, and planted garrisons at prominent points 
of the country, during their progress. Their advance 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 167 

caused the retreat of several small bodies of Americans, 
that had approached with the view to the relief of Charles- 
town. One of these, commanded by colonel Buford, con- 
sisting of three or four hundred men, was pursued by 
Tarleton, with a force about double that number. Tarleton 
came upon Buford near the Waxsaws. A battle ensued, 
in which Buford was defeated. The cry of his troops 
for quarter, produced no effect upon the assailants. The 
battle ended in a massacre, in which, according to Tarle- 
ton's own account of the bloody business, five in six of the 
whole body of the Americans, were either killed or so 
badly mangled, as to be incapable of removal from the 
field of battle. 

To the errors of Buford, may be ascribed the defeat of 
his party ; but the effect of this wanton massacre was 
beneficial to the country. The Americans were taught 
to expect no indulgence from their foes. " Tarleton's 
quarter," became proverbial, and a spirit of revenge in all 
subsequent battles, gave a keener edge to the military 
resentments of the people. 

The British commander-in-chief followed up these se- 
vere and sanguinary lessons, by proclamations which 
denounced vengeance against all who still continued in 
arms ; while offering " to the inhabitants, with a few excep- 
tions, pardon for their past treasonable offences, and a 
reinstatement in the possession of all those rights and 
immunities which they had enjoyed under the British 
government, exempt from taxation, except by their own 
legislatures." Suffering from the sword, their armies 
overthrown, the state every where in the hands of the foe, 
the people listened to these specious offers, and abandon- 



168 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

ed, for a few weeks, every hope of successful resistance. 
From several parts of the state, the people gave in their 
adhesion to the royal authority, and believing his con- 
quests to bo complete, Sir Henry Clinton sailed from 
Charlestown to New York, leaving to lord Cornwallis 
the chief command of the southern department. 

The general submission of the inhabitants, was followed 
by a temporary calm. The British believed the state to 
be thoroughly conquered. With this conviction, they 
proposed to extend their arms to the conquest of the 
neighboring states ; and their own force of five thousand 
men being inadequate to this object, they conceived a plan 
to carry out their operations, which had the effect of undo- 
ing much which had been done by their arms. They 
summoned the inhabitants to repair to the British stand- 
ard. Paroles given to citizens, not actually taken in 
Charlestown, were declared null and void, and the holders 
of them were called upon to act the part of British sub- 
jects, by appearing in arms at a certain time, under pain 
of being treated as rebels to his majesty's government. 
From this moment, the British popularity and power be- 
gan to decline ; and the seeming submission which follow- 
ed this command, was the disguise assumed by disaffec- 
tion, under the pressure of necessity. The mask was 
thrown aside by the greater number at the first sound of 
the signal trumpet which rallied the patriots under the 
banner of Gates. 

One small body of Carolinians which retreated before 
the British as they advanced into the upper country, was 
conducted by colonel Sumter, a gentleman who had for- 
merly commanded one of the continental regiments, and 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 169 

who had already distinguished himself by his fearless 
valor, great military talents, and unbending patriotism. 
Known to the British by these qualities, they had wreaked 
their fury upon his dwelling, which they had burned to 
the ground with all its contents, after expelling his 
wife and family from it. A sense of personal injury 
was superadded to that which roused his hostility in be- 
half of his country ; and, rallying his little force, which he 
strengthened by volunteers from North Carolina, he 
returned to his own state at the very moment when the 
cause of its liberty seemed most hopeless to the inhabit- 
ants. The attitude of this forlorn few, was no less melan- 
choly than gallant. The British w-ere every where tri- 
umphant, — the Americans desponding, — the state without 
any domestic government, and utterly unable to furnish 
supplies to this little band, whether of arms, clothing, or 
provisions. Never did patriotism take the field with so 
few encouragements or so many difTiculties. The iron 
tools of the neighboring farms — the ploughshare and the 
saw — were worked up into rude weapons of war by ordi- 
nary blacksmiths. They supplied themselves, in part, 
with bullets, by melting the pewter which was given them 
by private housekeepers. Sometimes they came into 
battle with less than three rounds to a man ; and one half 
were obliged to keep at a distance, until supplied, by the 
fall of comrades or enemies, with the arms which might 
enable them to engage in the conflict. When victorious, 
they relied upon the dead for the ammunition for their next 
campaign. The readiness with which these brave men 
resorted to the field under such circumstances, was the 
sufficient guaranty for their ultimate success. 

15* 



170 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA* 

The British commander was suddenly aroused to fury 
by the tidings of this new champion in the field which he 
had so lately overrun. At a moment when Carolina lay, 
as he thought, lifeless and nerveless beneath his feet, her 
sword was waving in trimnph above the heads of his war- 
riors. The little force led by Sumter, consisting of less 
than one hundred and fifty men, soon distinguished them- 
selves by the defeat of a large detachment of British and 
tories, under the command of colonel Ferguson of the for- 
mer, and captain Huck of the latter. The affair took 
place on the r2th of July, 1780, at WilHams' plantation, 
in the upper part of the state. The British were posted 
at disadvantage in a lane, both ends of which were entered 
at the same time by the Carolinians. Ferguson and 
Huck were both killed, and their men completely routed 
and dispersed. At the fortunate moment in which the at- 
tack was made, a number of prisoners were on their knees, 
vainly soliciting mercy for themselves and families, at the 
hands of the British officers. Huck had become notori- 
ous for his cruel atrocities, in the very performance of 
which, the retributive providence decreed that he should 
be slain. The success of Sumter rallied around him the 
people of the neighborhood, and his little force soon 
amounted to six hundred men. At the head of this force, 
on the 30tli of the same month, he made a spirited but 
unsuccessful attack on the British post at Rocky Mount. 
Baffled in this attempt, he passed without delay to the at- 
tack of another post at the Hanging Rock, in which a 
large force of regulars and tories were stationed. His 
assault was equally daring and successful. The Prince 
of Wales' regiment was annihilated at a blow ; and the 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 171 

tories, under colonel Brian of North Carolina, after suf- 
fering severely, were totally routed and dispersed. 

These successes of Sumter, equally spirited and well- 
conducted, tended greatly to encourage the Carolinians, 
and abate the panic which had been occasioned by the 
fall of their chief city. Little partisan squads rose in 
arms in various quarters, falling upon the British detach- 
ments whenever they exposed themselves ; but much more 
frequently addressing themselves to the conflict with those 
of their own countrymen who had joined the foe, and 
were prosecuting the war with a degree of ferocity that 
seemed meant to obscure even the bloody massacres of 
Tarleton. These bands chose their ovi^n leaders, and 
acted from their own impulses. Colonel Williams, of the 
district of Ninety Six, at the head of one of these parties, 
was particularly active in this guerilla warfare. A month 
after the victory of Sumter over Ferguson and Huck, he 
attacked a like body of the enemy, consisting of British 
and loyalists, under colonel Innis, at Musgrave's mills, on 
the Enoree. These he defeated with loss, after a severe 
conflict. Like conflicts, and with the like results, became 
frequent throughout the state, and the sudden and almost 
simultaneous appearance of Marion and Sumter on the 
horizon of battle, and the advance of a continental army, 
with the total overthrow of Burgoyne at Saratoga, dissi- 
pated all the fairy visions of British conquest in South 
Carolina, re-inspired the desponding citizens, and com- 
pelled Cornwallis again to take the field. 

The continentals sent from the northward, consisted of 
fourteen hundred men, and were marched to the south 
under the baron DeKalb, a German officer, whose military 



172 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

talents and experience secured him the command of a 
major-general in the army of the United States. DeKalb 
had pushed his march to the south by the direct route 
from Petersburg in Virginia, for Camden in South Caro- 
lina. On the Gth of July he reached Deep river, and halted 
at Cox's mills to collect provisions, and determine upon 
his future course. Here, he was overtaken, and super- 
seded in command, by general Gates. The arrival of 
Gates increased tlie activity of this little army, without 
improving its condition. Gates, unhappily, was one of 
those men whom success intoxicates and destroys. He 
had no sooner arrived than he issued orders to his troops 
to hold themselves in readiness for marching, and on the 
27th, the army was under march over a barren country to 
Monk's ferry, in direct opposition to the counsel of all his 
officers. 

The troops were without provisions and clothes, many 
without arms, and suffering from fatigue, from a protracted 
march, at every step of which they had been compelled 
to undergo these severe privations. Stilly his army was 
increased in its progress, by accessions, from Virginia 
and the Carolinas, of lean detachments ; and, with a little 
delay to permit of the coming in of the militia, and the 
procuring of arms and supplies, it might have been swollen 
to a very respectable force of four or five thousand men. 
Sanguine of success, and pressing on with the despatch 
which was all that this unfortunate general seemed to think 
necessary to secure it, he reached Clermont, where he en- 
camped on the 13th of August. Here he was informed, 
by colonel Sumter, of the advance of a considerable con- 
voy of British wagons on the route from M'Cord's ferry to 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 173 

Camden ; and solicited by that brave partisan for a small 
reinforcement to enable him to capture them. Four hun- 
dred men were detached on this service ; while general 
Gates put the army under marching orders to Camden, 
where the British maintained a strong post under the 
command of lord Rawdon. On the night of the 15th, at 
ten o'clock, the Americans moved from Rugely's mills, 
little dreaming of the terrible fate which awaited them. 

Gates was in ignorance of several facts which he might 
have known, but did not know, and which it was of infi- 
nite importance to his objects that he should have known. 
He was ignorant that, by forced marches, lord Cornwallis 
had reached Camden from Charlestown, bringing with 
him a considerable detachment. With a picked force of 
more than two thousand men, that enterprising command- 
er took up his line of march from Camden to meet his en- 
emy, at the very hour when Gates left Clermont. The 
latter had given himself little time to learn any thing. 
He committed a variety of blunders. He undervalued 
cavalry, one of the most important portions of every army, 
and one particularly important in a level country like that 
through which he had to march. 

He hurried his men when fatigued, without necessity, 
and commenced a night movement with untried militia, in 
the face of an enemy, in this march he showed none of 
that vigilance upon which the success of all military enter- 
prises must mainly depend. Lord Cornwallis, on the con- 
trary, appears to have been accurately informed of every 
particular in relation to his enemy, which it was important 
for him to know. It is even said that an emissary of the 
British commander succeeded in passing himself upon 



174 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Gates as a fugitive from Camden, and having won his con- 
fidence, made his escape to his British employer. 

In a fatal state of security, the result of his own self 
delusion, the commander of the American army hurried 
his troops forward blindly to their doom. The armies 
felt each other at midnight. The fire of the British ad- 
vance, first announced to the Americans the presence of 
their foes. The cavalry of Armand's legion wheeled and 
fled at the first discharge, but the infantry, under colonel 
Porterfield, which was advancing in files on the right of 
the road, coolly returned the fire, and the march of the 
enemy was checked. As if by tacit consent, the respect- 
ive armies recoiled, and prepared to await the daylight 
for the conclusion of the strife. The Americans were 
quickly formed for battle. The first Maryland division, 
including the Delawares under DeKalb, was posted on 
the right ; the Virginia militia, under Stevens, on the 
left ; the North Carolinians, under Caswell, held the 
centre ; the artillery in battery upon the road. Both 
wings rested on morasses, and the second Maryland 
brigade was posted a few hundred yards in the rear of the 
first, to act as the reserve. The British were formed in 
a single line, with the wings covered and supported by 
bodies in reserve. 

The battle began with the dawn of day. It was 
brought on by the advance of the American left on the Brit- 
ish right, which had the appearance of being in some con- 
fusion. The reception which the Virginians met proved 
this to have been an error ; they were repulsed, and, 
the British, charging at this moment with a cheer, fled 
in the utmost confusion, many of them without even 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 175 

discharging their pieces. This unworthy example was 
followed by the North Carolina militia, with the ex- 
ception of a single corps under major Dixon. The 
cavalry of Armand, which had behaved with so little 
resolution in the encounter of the night, increased the 
panic by a second and irretrievable flight ; and the con- 
tinentals stood alone, abandoned by the militia, and 
maintaining their around against the entire force of the 
British army. The artillery was lost; the cavalry — a 
miserable apology for a legion, made up of the worthless 
outcasts of foreign service — were swallowed up in the 
woods — and the regular infantry, reduced to a mere point 
in the field, and numbering but nine hundred men, were 
now compelled to bear the undivided pressure of two thou- 
sand men. But they resisted this pressure nobly, and 
their bayonets locking with those of the foe, bore them 
back upon the field in many places, yielding them pris- 
oners from the verv heart of the British line. This tri- 
umph was momentary only — these gallant men were un- 
supported. DeKalb had already fallen under eleven 
wounds, Gates had fled or was borne from the field by the 
flying militia ; and Cornwallis, observing that there was 
no cavalry opposed to him, poured in his dragoons, now 
returning from pursuit of the fugitives, and ended the con- 
test. Never did men behave better than the continentals ; 
but they were now compelled to fly. The only chance 
that remained to avoid a surrender on the field, and escape 
from the sabres of the dragoons, in whom the British were 
very strong, was to break away for the morass in their rear, 
into which they could not be pursued by cavalry. This 
was done, and by this measure, alone, did any part of this 



176 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

devoted corps find safety. The Americans lost the whole 
of their artillery, upwards of two hundred wagons, and all 
their baggage. The loss of the British, in killed and 
wounded, was about three hundred. Though the royal 
army fought with great bravery, they must have been 
beaten, but for the flight of the militia. The terrible con- 
flict which followed with the continentals, proves what 
must have been the event, had the former behaved like 
men. 



y 



CHAPTER XVII. 

The milita composed so large a part of general Gates' 
army, that he lost all hopes of victory on seeing them 
leave the field. His flight was thence to Clermont and 
Charlotte, where he hoped to rally the fugitives. It was 
in the midst of the hurry of flight, that he was overtaken 
by a courier, who brought him the consoling intelligence 
of the complete success of Sumter in his enterprise. He 
had succeeded in his attempt against Carey's fort, on 
the Wateree, had captured the garrison, and intercepted 
the escort with the wagons and stores. 

On hearing of the defeat of Gates, Sumter began his 
retreat up the south side of the Wateree. He was pur- 
sued by Tarleton, with his legion and a detachment of 
infantry. 

The movements of Sumter were necessarily and greatly 
impeded by his captives. He had with him forty baggage 
wagons, filled with booty of the very kind that the Ameri- 
cans were most in need of. He was encumbered also by 
three hundred prisoners. Tarleton, pursuing withhis usual 
celerity, came suddenly upon the camp of the Americans, 
near Fishing Creek, and a complete surprise was effected. 
The British cavalry burst upon them when there was not 
a man standing to his arms, and threw themselves be- 
tween the men and the parade where their muskets were 
stacked. The videttes were probably sleeping on their 
posts, seduced into a false security by the belief that the 

16 



178 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

foe was at a distance. Not a drum was beat to arms, 
and no alarm given which could apprize the Americans 
of the approach of danger. The rout was total. A few 
of the regulars maintained a fire from behind the wagons 
for a while, in hopes of rallying the militia, but without 
success. Their opposition only served to infuriate the 
dragoons. The carnage was dreadful, and the aggregate 
loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners, was very little short 
of that sustained by Gates in his defeat of the 16th. 

Sumter had the good fortune to escape ; but very few of 
his officers or men got off. Of the prisoners taken in 
these two battles by the British, several were selected, 
bound with cords and carried to Camden, where they 
were hung without trial, as rebels, under the express or- 
der of lord Cornwallis. Nor was this the only measure 
of severity adopted by the invaders. In almost every 
section of the state, their progress was marked with 
blood, and with other deeds of equal atrocity. Many of 
the militia were executed on various and worthless pre- 
texts, and most frequently without even the form of trial. 
Private citizens were made close prisoners on board 
of prison ships, where they perished of foul diseases and 
Avithout attendance. From Charlestown alone, after the 
defeat of Gates, sixty of the principal inhabitants were 
transported to St. Augustine, where they were subjected 
equally to bondage and every form of indignity. The 
determination of the British commander, seemed to be, to 
annihilate the spirit of independence by trampling upon 
the persons of its best asserters. This was a short sighted 
policy. True manhood is never more resolute than when 
it feels itself wronged, and the Carolinians were never 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 179 

more determined for their liberties than in the moment of 
their oreatest denial. 

General Gates, after several ineffectual attempts to 
rally his men, finally retired to Hillsborough, in North Car- 
olina, to solicit the support of the state legislature, then in 
session. Here, upon bringing together the remnant of his 
little army, it was found to number little more than one 
thousand men. In North Carolina, after the dispersion 
of Sumter's command, there did not remain a man in 
arms, except a small band embodied by Marion. This 
able partisan maintained his ground below and along the 
Santee river, and managed, among the defiles and swamps 
of that region, to elude all the activity of his enemies. 
His force had been collected chiefly among his own 
neighbors, were practised in the swamps, and familiar 
with the country. Like Sumter, utterly unfurnished 
with the means of war at first, he procured them by 
similar means. He took possession of the saws from 
the mills, and converted them into sabres. So much was 
he distressed for ammunition, that he has engaged in 
battle when he had not three rounds of powder to each 
man of his party. At other times, without any, his men 
have been brought in sight of the foe simply that their 
numbers might be displayed. For weeks his force did 
not exceed seventy-five ; sometimes they were reduced 
to one third that number, all volunteers from the miUtia. 
Yet, with this inconsiderable band, he maintained his 
ground, secure amidst hundreds of tory enemies, who 
hung around his footsteps with all that watchful hostility 
which the peculiar animosities of civil warfare is so 
likely to sharpen into personal hatred. Various were the 



180 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

means employed to draw off or drive away liis followers. 
The houses on the banks of the Pedee, Lynches Creek, 
and Blaek river, from whence they were chielly taken, 
were destroyed by lire, the plantations devastated, and 
the negroes carried away. But the effect of this 
wantonness was far other than had been intended. Re- 
venoe and despair conrtrnied the patriotism of these ruined 
men, and strengthened their resolution ; and the indiscrim- 
inate fury of the foe, only served equally to increase their 
mnnbers and their zeal. For months, their only shelter 
was the green wood and the swamp, — their only cover 
the bmad forest and the arch of heaven. Hardened by 
exposure, and stimulated by the strongest motives of 
patriotism and feeling, they sallied forth from these hiding 
places when their presence was least expected ; and 
the first tidings of their approach were conveyed in the 
flashing sabre and the whizzing shot. 

With a policy that nothing could distract, a caution 
that no artifice could mislead, Marion led his followers 
from thicket to thicket in safety, and was never more 
perfectly secure than when he was in the neighborhood 
of his foe. He hung upon his flanks on the march, he 
skirted his camp in the darkness of the night, he lay in 
wait for his foraging parties, he shot down his sentries, 
and, flying or advancing, he never failed to harass the in- 
vader, and extort from him a bloody toll at every passage 
through swamp, thicket or river, which his smaller parties 
made. In this sort of warfare — which is peculiarly 
adapted to the peculiarities of the country in Carolina, and 
consequently to the genius of her people — he contrived 
almost to break up the British communication, by one of 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 181 

the most eligible routes, between the seaboard and the in- 
terior ; and a masterly enterprise, marked with the bold- 
ness and intelligence that distinguished all his move- 
ments, drew on him the anxious attention of his enemy, 
and made it necessary for Cornwallis to dislodge him. 
Hearing that a body of prisoners taken at the defeat of 
Gates, about one hundred and fifty in number, were under 
march to Charlestown, under a strong escort, he determin- 
ed upon their rescue. Placing his mounted militia in am- 
bush, in one of the swamps that skirt the wood from Nel- 
son's Ferry to Monk's Corner, he darted upon the escort, 
and succeeded in taking the whole party captive. Hav- 
ing put the arms of the British into the hands of the res- 
cued Americans, he hurried across the Santee, and did not 
pause until his prisoners were safely disposed of within 
the limits of North Carolina. He was far upon his way 
beyond the arm of danger, before the parties detached by 
Cornwallis to drive him from his covert, had reached 
the scene of his enterprise. 

The temporary departure of Marion, left South Carolina 
almost wholly abandoned to the enemy ; but the fruils of 
his daring and success were yet to be seen. Opposition 
to the British was never wholly extinct in the state, even 
"when it may have most appeared so ; and soon after 
the defeat of Sumter on the 18lh of August, he began to 
recruit his force from among the people of York district — 
a section of the state which had never made any conces- 
sions 10 the invader. Major Davie, another enterprising 
officer, had equipped, as dragoons, some fifty or sixty men 
in the same neighborhood ; and these two bands were still 
in arms, though quiet, and only waiting for the occasion 

16* 



182 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

which was to bring them into renewed activity. It is 
probable that the knowledge of the existence of these par- 
ties, drew the attention of the British commander to this 
part of the country. Colonel Ferguson, a brave and effi- 
cient leader of the seventy-first British regiment, appear- 
ed among these brave borderers with a stronor and disor- 
derly force, consisting of loyalists and British, nearly fif- 
teen hundred in number. His march through the coun- 
try was distinguished by every sort of atrocity and vio- 
lence. The lively representations of those who had suf- 
fered at the hands of these marauders, awakened the 
mountaineers to a sense of their own danger. Hitherto, 
they had only heard of war at a distance ; and, in the 
peaceable possession of that independence for which 
their countrymen along the seaboard had been contend- 
ing, they had probably been rather more indifferent to the 
issue than their own interests and sympathies could well 
have justified. The approach of Ferguson aroused them 
from their apathy, and they determined to embody them- 
selves for their own defence. Being all mounted men, 
and unincumbered with baggage, their movements were 
prompt and rapid. Each man set forth with his blaiiket 
and rifle, in the manner of a hunter, and as if in pursuit 
only of the wild beasts of the forest. The earth was his 
couch at nioht, and the skies his coverino-. The runnino" 
stream quenched his thirst, and the wild game of the 
woods, or the cattle which he drove before him, supplied 
him with food. They rendezvoused at length among the 
passes of the mountains. 

Nine hundred picked riflemen overtook the British 
commander on the 7th of October, 1780. His encamp- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 183 

ment was made upon the eminence of a circular base, 
called King's Mountain, situated on the confines of South 
and North Carolina. The Americans were commanded 
by colonel Arthur Campbell, but were separated into four 
divisions, each under the command of its own captain. 
The colonels under Campbell, were Cleveland, Shelby, Se- 
vier, and Williams. These several divisions, by arrange- 
ment, ascended different sides of the mountain, at the 
same time, to the attack. The party led by Cleveland first 
encountered the pickets of the royal army. On this oc- 
casion the gallant mountaineer addressed his troops in 
the simplest but most exciting language of patriotic valor. 

" My brave fellows," he said, " we have beaten the 
lories already, and we can beat them again. They are 
all cowards ; — if they were not, they would support the 
independence of their country. When engaged with 
them, you will want no word of command from me. I 
will show you how to fight by my example. I can do 
no more. Every man must be his own officer, and act 
from his own judgment. Fire a§ fast as you can, and 
stand your ground as long as you can. When you can 
do no better, run ; but do not run quite off. Get behind 
trees and retreat. If repulsed, let us return and renew 
the fight. We may have better luck the second time 
than the first. If any of you are afraid, let them retire, 
and I beg they may take themselves off at once." 

This was a good speech, which his men could under- 
stand. The effect of it was such as every commander 
must desire. The battle began. The picket soon gave 
way and was forced up the mountain to the main body. 
Here the pursuers were met by Ferguson. They recoil- 



184 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

ed before the charge of the British bayonet, to which they 
could oppose nothing but the American rifle. They fled 
down the hill ; but, obeying the directions of their com- 
mander, they availed themselves of every shelter, to stop, 
reload, and throw in their fire. They were soon relieved 
by the appearance of the party under Shelby, who, by 
this time, had made the circuit of the mountain. Fergu- 
son was compelled to turn and encounter a new foe. 
The fresh party, under Shelby, poured in a well directed 
fire ; but sunk back, like that of Cleveland, under the 
charge of the British. The plans of the mountaineers, 
though simple, were singularly effective, and the party of 
Shelby was relieved by the approach of another band, 
whose unerring rifles compelled the British commander 
once more to change his front. While busy with these, 
a fourth came upon the ground. As often as one of the 
American divisions was driven down the mountain, 
another rose in the rear or on the flank of the enemy. 
Ferguson's valor was unavailing. The mountain was en- 
circled by foes as bold and deliberate, as they were prompt, 
active and skillful. His men were falling around him 
on every side ; the success of his bayonets gave him 
barren ground, which he could only for a moment retain. 
Still he refused to surrender. The conflict was ended 
only by his fall. The second in command sued for quar- 
ters. The havoc had been terrible on the side of the 
British. Thirteen hundred men were killed, wounded, 
and prisoners. But two hundred escaped. Fifteen hun- 
dred stand of arms fell into the hands of the Americans. 
They lost but few men, but among these was the brave 
colonel Williams. The bloody conflict was marked by 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



185 



a crowning sacrifice of vengeance. Ten of the captives 
were hung by the victors. These were men who had 
been guilty of the most monstrous crimes, for which 
their lives had long been forfeit. They were also re- 
quired to expiate for the murders which Cornwallis had 
committed at Camden, Ninety-Six and Augusta. The 
deed was justified by that code which requires eye for 
eye, tooth for tooth, life for life. 




CHAPTER XVIII. 

The defeat anJ death of Ferguson, ami the overthrow 
o( n loree so toniutlable as that whii-h lie led, re-inspir- 
ited the Auierieans. It also served to baiHe tlie plans 
of lord Corawallis ; to whom it gave siieh serious alarm 
that he retreated from Charlotte, to whieh plaee he had 
pursued the fugitive army of Gates, and fixed himself at 
^Vimlsborough. The bqldness of the AnuMieans iuereas- 
ed daily. The panie whieh followed the defeat of the 
continentals began to dissipate. Small bodies of troops, 
under favorite leaders, began to show themselves even 
in the neighborhood of Cornwallis' eneampment ; eutting 
ofl'his foragers and intercepting his convoys. The sharp 
shooters of the Carolinas penetrated his very lines, and 
under tlie shelter of shrub, tree and hilloek. picked olV 
his sentries. Such was their audacity, that, on his march 
from Charlotte to Winnsborough, single rillemen often 
rode up within gunshot of his army, singled out their vic- 
tims, and, having discharged their pieces, rode off in safety. 
Andrew Jackson, then a boy but fourteen years old, took 
the fiehl on this occasion. The approach of Ferguson and 
Cornwallis summoned all classes to the field : The old 
sire, better fitted to grasp the crutch than the brand, as 
M'cll as the boy whose sinews had not yet hardened into 
manhood ; and, long after the storm of battle had subsided 
on the plains of Carolina, the boy of the Waxsaws still 
remembered its fury, while grappling with the same ene- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 187 

my on the field of New Orleans. Little was it imaf^nncd 
that the obscure stripling who was sabred by a British offi- 
cer for refusing to clean his boots, should be honored, 
thirty-five years after, with the greatest triumph ever ob- 
tained in America over a British army. 

The retreat of Cornwallis still farther encouraged the 
Americans, who began to repair in considerable numbers 
to the camps of their respective commanders. An incur- 
sion of colonel Washington, into South Carolina, was 
attended with singular good fortune. On the 4th of 
December, 1780, he appeared before the British post 
near Camden, which was held by one colonel Rugely. 
It was a stockade, but garrisoned by an hundred men. 
Washington was without artillery; but a pine log, which 
was ingeniously hewn and arranged so as to resemble a 
field piece, enforced, to the commander of the post, the 
propriety of surrendering to the first summons of the 
American colonel. This harmless piece of timber, ele- 
vated a few feet from the earth, was invested by the 
apprehension of the garrison with such formidable power, 
that they were exceedingly glad to find a prompt accept- 
ance of their submission. Colonel Rugely's hope of 
becoming a brigadier was forever cut off by his too ready 
recognition of this new instrument of warfare. 

About this time, general Greene took command of the 
southern army. He found his troops few in number, 
oppressed with severe and active duties, Avithout tents 
or blankets, and but imperfectly supplied with clothing. 
The British army in Carolina numbered five thousand men, 
exclusive of loyalists, and were strongly stationed so as to 
cover the most important routes in the state, and to over- 



188 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

awe the most populous settlements. The garrison at 
Winnsboroiigh completed a chain of posts which the ene- 
my had established, from Georgetown to Augusta, in a cir- 
cle, the centre of which, equi-distant from Charlestovvn and 
Savannah, would have been Beaufort, in South Carolina. 
These posts consisted of Georgetown, Camden, Winns- 
borough, Ninety-Six and Augusta. Within this circle 
was another chain of posts, consisting of Fort Watson 
on the road to Camden, Motte's House, and Granby on the 
Congaree. Dorchester, Orangeburg, Monk's Corner, and 
other places, were fortified as posts of rest, deposite, and 
communication. These stations were all judiciously 
chosen, as well for procuring subsistence as for covering 
the country. 

The American army had been under march for Salis- 
bury before the arrival of Greene. A command under 
colonel Morgan had penetrated South Carolina, pressing 
forward towards Camden, and occupying the very ground 
which had witnessed the defeat of Gates. The exploit 
of Marion in rescuing the American prisoners and cap- 
turing the British guards, made him particularly obnoxious 
to the British commander. Tarleton's success against 
Sumter, and the promptness and activity of his move- 
ments, pointed him out to Cornwallis as the proper officer 
to ferret out and destroy this wary partisan. But the 
British officer manoeuvered in vain. Marion baffled and 
eluded him at all points, and his adversary was com- 
pelled to leave him the undisputed master of the whole 
ground, while he turned his arms once more against 
Sumter, whose incursions had again become troublesome. 
This daring captain, having recruited his command to an 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 189 

imposing force, advanced within twenty-eight miles of 
the British camp at Winnsborough. This audacity 
suggested to Cornwallis a plan of surprising him in his 
encampment. Such importance was attached to secu- 
ring his individual person, that an officer, with five dra- 
goons, had it specially in charge to force their way to his 
tent, and take him, dead or alive. "The Game Cock," as 
Sumter was called by the Carolinians, was, in the lan- 
guage of Cornwallis, the greatest trouble which the 
British had encountered in the country. The conduct of 
this enterprise was entrusted to a major Wemyss, who 
approached the encampment of the American general 
with considerable promptitude and caution. Fortunately, 
Sumter had given more than usual strength to his advan- 
ced guard. His army had lain so long in their position, 
that he naturally expected attack. Colonel Taylor, by 
whom the advance guard was commanded, had taken par- 
ticular precautions. Fires had been lighted in front of his 
line, and his men were ordered, in case of alarm, to form 
so far in the rear of the fires, as to be concealed, while the 
approaching enemy would be conspicuous in their light. 
The videttes and pickets did their duty, and the guard 
was ready to receive the attack. A murderous fire pros- 
trated twenty-three of the British as they reached the 
fires. The rest recoiled, then retreated for a hundred 
yards before they rallied. They were brought again 
steadily to the attack, and a close conflict followed ; but 
the well directed fire of the Americans completed what 
their advance guard had so well begun. The British 
were driven from the field, and found safety only in the 
darkness of the night. Wemyss fell into the hands of 

17 



190 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

the Americans, being wounded through both thighs, and 
deserted by his men in the precipitation of their flight. 

Sumter, after this affair, left his position, and was 
pursued by Tarleton with the headlong haste which 
marked all the movements of that warrior. He came up 
with the American general at Blackstock's, on the 20th 
of November. Blackstock's house, on the southwest 
bank of Tiger river, afforded a favorable position for the 
employment of a small force in battle. Sumter stationed 
his troops so as to avail himself of all its advantages. 
Not doubting that the whole force of the British was 
upon him, he resolved to maintain his ground during the 
day, and under cover of the night escape across the river. 
Tarleton's command consisted of his legion, a battalion 
of the 71st regiment, a detachment of the 63rd, and a 
lieutenant's command of the royal artillery, with one field 
piece. But, of this force, only four hundred mounted men 
had yet come up with the Americans. As soon as Sum- 
ter made this discovery, his plans were changed ; and 
he resolved to commence the attack and cut up his ene- 
my in detail. Tarleton, supposing that he had the game 
in his own hands, had, immediately on arriving, secured 
an elevated piece of ground in front of Sumter's position, 
and, dismounting his men to relieve themselves and hor- 
ses, prepared to await the arrival of his artillery and 
infantry. But the assault of Sumter compelled him to 
take to his arms. The Americans descended from their 
heights and poured in a well directed fire upon the ene- 
my. They were met by the bayonet, and being armed 
only with rifles, were compelled to retire. The British 
advanced, but were met by a reserve of rifles, which 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 191 

prostrated many and repulsed the rest. Tarleton, as 
he beheld his danger, commanded a second and desper- 
ate charge, directly up the hill ; but the Americans stood 
jfirm and received him with their rifles, under the united 
fire of which his men could not be made to stand. Draw- 
ing off his whole force, he wheeled upon Sumter's left, 
where the ground was less precipitous ; he was here met 
by a little corps of Georgians, about 150 in number, who 
displayed the courage of veterans. But the pressure of 
Tarleton's whole force was too much for them to contend 
against. They yielded, after a noble resistance, and gave 
way ; but the timely interposition of the reserve, under 
colonel Winn, and the fire from a company stationed at 
the house, determined the issue. Tarleton fled, leaving 
near two hundred men upon the field of battle. The loss 
of the Americans was trifling, but their brave commander 
received a severe wound in the breast, which kept him 
a lens^th of time from service. 

The army of the south, when general Greene entered 
upon its command, was, in the language of his prede- 
cessor, " rather a shadow than a substance." It consist- 
ed nominally of less than two thousand men. One thou- 
sand of these were militia, and nine hundred continentals. 
The first measures of Greene were to provide them with 
arms and clothing, and make such arrangements as would 
supply their future wants. These were not of easy 
performance in a country where there was no real mo- 
ney, and nothing in circulation but a miserable paper cur- 
rency, even then hopelessly irredeemable, and not less a 
jest with the Americans than a mockery with the British. 
But, whatever may have been the deficiencies and disad- 



192 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

vantages of the service, the American general entered up- 
on it with a manly determination to undertake its hardships 
with patriotic zeal, and to despond in nothing. He ad- 
vanced towards the head of boat navigation on the Pedee. 
The country in that neighborhood was fertile, and had 
not yet been traversed by an army of any magnitude. 
Here he sat down for a while, in order to recruit and 
exercise his little force. Here he matured his plans, 
perfected his intimacy with his officers, and drilled his 
raw militiamen. From this point he dispatched his 
engineers to explore the country. The routes in all 
directions were carefully set down, and with governor 
Rutledge, of South Carolina, in his camp, he was not 
suffered to remain in ignorance of any matters which he 
deemed essential to his contemplated invasion of the 
state. 

While Gates and Greene were busy in the accu- 
mulation of an army, it must not be supposed that the 
little bands under Marion and other partisan command- 
ers, had been inactive. Marion, whose mode of war- 
fare had acquired for him the nom de guerre of " the 
Swamp Fox," was never inactive. Hundreds of little 
successes, that do not properly belong to the main stream 
of regular history, yet concurred to render his career 
memorable, and to influence equally the hopes of his 
countrymen and the hostility of the enemy. His com- 
mand was a peculiar one, being chiefly formed from the 
little and insulated section of country in which he lived. 
His warriors were his neighbors and friends, and the 
tie that bound them together, brought into equal activity 
the duty of the soldier and the affections of the comrade. 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 193 

" Marion's brigade," was the extra military epithet 
which distinguished his command. It might contain ten 
men, or five liimdred, — it was still " Marion's brigade" — > 
a membership in which, had a sort of masonic value in 
the estimation of his followers, which amply compensated 
for all its privations and fatigues. Constantly active, it 
would be impossible for the pen of the historian to follow 
the progress of the little corps. Some of his exploits 
have been recorded. We can only glance at one or two 
more, in order to bring up our narration to the period of 
Greene's assumption of command over the southern army. 
One of the first of his exploits was the surprise of a major 
Gainey, at the head of a large body of tories which he 
had collected between Great and Little Pedee. A second 
party of tories was defeated at Shepherd's ferry, near 
Black Mingo swamp. The tories were well posted to 
receive the attack, and a desperate conflict ensued. 
The parties were so near each other during the greater 
part of the conflict, that the wadding of their guns contin- 
ually struck on each side. Neither party had bayonets, 
and buckshot was quite as frequently used as ball. This 
victory increased the "brigade" to nearly four hundred 
men, with which he marched upon colonel Tynes, who 
had raised a large force of tories upon Black river. 
Tynes was surprised, several of his men slain, and his 
force dispersed, while Marion lost not a man. In all 
these marches and conflicts, the partisans lived entirely 
in the swamps, with no shelter but the forest, almost 
without blankets or clothing, commonly with no food but 
potatoes, and meat without salt. Marion himself, for a 
long time, had neither hat nor blanket. 

17* 



194 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

The arrival of Greene abridged the independence of 
Marion's movements. His brigade constituted a portion 
of the men of the state, and was necessarily comprised 
within the command of that general. The activity, cour- 
age, and successful conduct of Marion, indicated him to 
Greene as one well calculated, by his knowledge of the 
country, for active employment ; and colonel Lee being 
joined to his "brigade," a combined attempt was made to 
surprise the British post at Geo^-getown. The town was 
entered, many were killed and taken, but the garrison re- 
mained firm, and the attempt was unsuccessful. The fail- 
ure is ascribed to several causes ; but the alarm of the 
guides, who missed their way, and thus defeated the plan 
of co-operation between the several parties, is a sufficient 
reason. With this affair, which took place on the 25th of 
January, general Greene opened the campaign of 1781. 

This failure was more than compensated by a brilliant 
event which happened, a few days before, in the western 
extremity of the state, to which general Greene had 
detached colonel Morgan with a strong force, with a view 
to his keeping down and restraining the brutal passions 
of the loyalists in that quarter. Morgan, shortly after 
his arrival, sent lieutenant colonel Washington, with a 
regiment and two hundred horse, to attack a body of tories 
who had been plundering the whig inhabitants. Wash- 
ington came up with them near Hammond's store, char- 
ged them vigorously and defeated them. General Cun- 
ningham, with a detachment of British militia, of one hun- 
dred and fifty, was dispersed by a party under cornet 
Simons, of Washington's command. These and other 
successes, seriously excited the apprehensions of Corn- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 195 

wallis for the safety of the post at Ninety Six; and he 
ordered Tarleton to throw himself at once across the path 
of Morgan. 

With a force of twelve hundred men — five hundred of 
whom were the formidable legion which had been car- 
rying terror and conquest through every quarter of the 
state, for so long a time — Tarleton prepared to obey with 
his accustomed celerity. That there should be no 
chance for the escape of his prey, who lay on the west 
side of Broad river, it was concerted that Cornwallis 
should advance northwardly as far as King's mountain, 
that Morgan's retreat might be cut off, and he com- 
pelled to fight. That Morgan should himself desire to 
encounter either of them, the British commanders do 
not seem to have suspected for a moment. Instead of 
flying from Tarleton, Morgan advanced to the Pacolet to 
meet him. The Pacolet is a small river, fordable in 
many places. On the evening of the 15th, Tarleton put 
his troops in motion towards the head of the stream, as 
if with an intention to cross it above the position which 
Morgan had taken, and thus place his adversary between 
his own and the main army under Cornwallis, which 
was only a day's march distant on the left. His stratagem 
took eff'ect. Morgan made a corresponding movement, 
while Tarleton, silently decamping in the night, passed 
the river before daylight, at a crossing place a few miles 
below. Morgan then retreated precipitately, and before 
night regained a favorite position on Thicketty creek^ 
where he determined to await the approach of the enemy. 
Tarleton, supposing that his adversary was resolved on 
flight, hurriedly resumed the pursuit on the following 



196 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

morning. About 8 o'clock A. M. he came in sight of the 
Americans, and, instead of overtaking his adversary in 
the fatigue and confusion of a flioht, he found him drawn. 
up and ready under arms. Morgan's army had rested, 
breakfasted, and were refreshed. The British, on the 
other hand, had been five hours that morning on the 
march; but this difference was deemed unimportant to 
one who had hitherto known nothing but success. Tarle- 
ton, satisfied by the spirit and alacrity of his troops, pre- 
pared at once for battle. 

Morgan had taken ground on an eminence which as- 
cended gently for about three hundred and fifty yards, 
and was covered with an open wood. On the crown of 
this eminence were posted two hundred and ninety 
Maryland regulars, and in line on their right, two com- 
panies of Virginia militia and a company of Georgians — 
making his rear line consist of four hundred and thirty men. 
This was commanded by lieutenant colonel Howard. 
One hundred and fifty yards in advance of the lino, the 
main body of the militia, about three hundred in number, 
all practiced riflemen, and most of them burning with a 
keen sense of personal injury, were posted under the com- 
mand of colonel Pickens. In advance of the first line about 
one hundred and fifty yards, were placed as many picked 
riflemen, scattered in loose order along the whole front. 
Those on the right were commanded by colonel Cunning- 
ham, of Georgia; those on the left by major McDowal, 
of South Carolina. No particular order was given to 
this desultory body ; but they knew the service. "Mark 
the epaulette men," were the words of counsel which 
they whispered to one another. In the rear of the se- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 197 

cond line the ground descended, and then again arose to 
a heioht sufficient to cover a man on horseback. Behind 
this, the American reserve was posted, consisting of Wash- 
ington's andMcCall's cavalry, one hundred and twenty-five 
in number. The advanced party were ordered not to deliv- 
er their fire until the British were within fifty yards, and, 
this done, to retire, covering themselves with trees and load- 
ing and firing as occasion offered. 

When Tarleton beheld his enemy ready to receive him, 
he advanced to reconnoitre, but was prevented from doing 
so by the picked riflemen who were scattered along 
the entire front of the line. On this occasion they gave 
the cavalry a few discharges, which made them tremble 
at the deadly aim of the southern rifle. The British 
were formed when within three hundred yards from the 
front of Morgan's force, and soon after advanced with a 
shout, under the cover of their artillery, pouring in an 
incessant fire of musketry as they came. At the assign- 
ed distance the militia delivered their fire with unerring 
aim, and "here," says colonel Howard, "the battle was 
gained." The assertion was justified by the spectacle of 
dead and wounded, commissioned and non-commissioned, 
who sank down under the deliberate and fatal discharge 
which first followed the advance of the foe. But this was 
not enough to repel the enemy under the excitement of bat- 
tle and the goading of their commanders. The retreat of 
the militia quickened the advance of the British, who rent 
the air with shouts, as they fondly believed that the day 
was already won. But the second line renewed the pun- 
ishment which had followed from the fire of the first, and 
at this moment the fearful havoc which the riflemen had 



198 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

made among the officers, rendered itself apparent in the 
confusion of the troops. Still they advanced, yet obvious- 
ly with such hesitation, that Tarleton ordered the 71st re- 
giment into line upon his left. His cavalry at the same 
time descended upon the Americans' right. Morgan 
perceived this movement, and the necessity of covering 
his flank. In this crisis of the battle, Washington en- 
countered the cavalry of Tarleton, in a successful charge — 
the militia recovered, and forming a new reserve, were 
ready to obey the command of Morgan, to " give them but 
one more fire and make the victory secure ;" — the bayonets 
of Howard's continentals were interlocked with those of 
the foe ; — and the day was won. The concerted action 
of Morgan's whole force at the most important moment, 
was the certain guaranty of victory. The enemy was 
within thirty yards, tumultuously shouting and advancing, 
when the final fire of the Americans was delivered. 
The survivors of the terrible discharge threw down their 
weapons, and fell upon their faces. Eight hundred stand 
of arms, two field pieces and thirty-five baggage wagons, 
fell into the hands of the victors. The remains of the 
British cavalry were pursued for several miles by Wash- 
ington, but the greater part of them escaped. Thus 
ended the great and well fought battle of the Cowpens. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Never was victory more complete than this. Not a 
corps of the British retired from the field under command, 
except the remains of the cavalry who accompanied 
Tarleton himself. These were pursued by lieutenant col- 
onel Washington with his accustomed rapidity of move- 
ment — a rapidity which sometimes involved him in perils, 
when greater prudence, though less brilliant in its display, 
might have been better soldiership. Excited by the 
prospect of capturing the formidable cavalry officer whose 
successes had hitherto been so uniform, and so productive 
of disaster to the Carolinas, Washington pressed forward 
with so much haste as to separate himself from the main 
body of his command. Tarleton beheld this, and turned 
upon his pursuer. He was supported by two of his offi- 
cers, one of whom crossed swords with the pursuing 
American. The blade of the latter, being: of inferior tem- 
per, broke in the encounter, and left him at the mercy of 
the foe. At this moment, when a second blow would 
have brought him to the ground, a little henchman, not 
fourteen years old, who was devoted to his master, and 
carried no other weapon than a pistol at his saddle bow, 
seasonably rode up and discharged its contents into the 
shoulder of the Briton. The arm of the assailant fell 
powerless at his side ; but the other officer occupied his 
place. His sword was already lifted above the head of 
Washington, when the blow was broken by the interposi- 



200 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

tion of the sword of sergeant major Perry. A bullet from 
the pistol of colonel Tarleton, aimed at Washington, 
brought the noble steed that bore him to the ground. 
The fortunate approach of the Americans arrested the 
farther attempts of the Briton upon their leader. The mo- 
ment was lost and his flight was resumed. The dragoons 
never fought well. They had repeatedly hacked to pieces 
a fugitive or supplicating militia ; but neither at Black- 
stock's, where they encountered Sumter, nor at Cowpens, 
where they met w4th Washington, did they maintain the 
high renown which they had acquired rather from good 
fortune than desert. The star of Tarleton waned from 
this moment. His operations grew limited in extent, and 
small in importance. His defeat on this occasion, with 
that of Ferguson at King's mountain, were the first links 
in a grand chain of causes, Avhich drew down ruin on the 
British interest in South Carolina. 

Success did not lull Morgan into security. Not more 
than twenty-five miles from lord Cornwallis, he naturally 
conjectured that his lordship would be in motion to cut 
off his retreat, as soon as the intelligence should reach 
him of the defeat of Tarleton. He halted no longer on 
the field of battle than to refresh his men and secure his 
prisoners, who were five hundred in number, exclusive of 
the wounded ; and moved across Broad river the same eve- 
ning. His movements were necessarily slow, encum- 
bered as he was with the wounded, the prisoners, and the 
captured baggage ; and he might have been easily over- 
taken and brought to a halt by a vigorous pursuit of the 
enemy ; but the good fortune which had attended him 
through the conflict, still clung to his standard. Cornwal- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 201 

lis, with a remissness which has been censured by Tarle- 
ton, hesitated to decide. In war, the delay of moments is 
the defeat of hosts. He stopped to destroy his baggage, 
and make some preparations which could have been re- 
served for another time, and which consumed two days ; 
and thus lost a prize, which, had he pursued promptly, he 
could scarcely have failed to secure. He reached the 
Great Catawba river just after the American general had 
passed in safety ; but he no longer possessed the power to 
follow him. The swollen waters of the stream, which 
barely suffered the passage of Morgan, rose up, foaming 
and threatening, in the face of Cornwallis. The Ameri- 
cans exulted in the conviction that a miracle had been 
performed in their behalf, like that which saved the He- 
brews from the pursuit of the Egyptian tyrant. The 
British commander was not, indeed, swallowed up by the 
waters ; but they stayed his march — they baffled his pur- 
suit ; and Morgan joined his commander, bringing off in 
safety, the prisoners and baggage, the whole rich spoils 
of his valor and good conduct. 

As soon as the Catawba was fordable, Cornwallis 
prepared to cross it, which he did successfully, though 
resisted by a part of Greene's army under the command 
of general Davidson. It was a wise resolution on the 
part of the British general to attempt the passage in the 
night. A stream five hundred yards wide, foaming among 
the rocks, and frequently overturning men and horses in 
its progress, might, in day-light, have discouraged the 
hearts of his men. Nor would they then have been so 
safe from the unerring riflemen, who were posted among 
the trees and bushes which thickly covered the margin 

18 



202 THE HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

of the strcajn. A sharp oonllict uovortheh^ss followed 
the attempt, i7i which many of the enemy, incliKling col- 
onel Halo of the guards, were slain. Cornwallis himself 
had a horse shot under him, which harelv survived to 
reach the shore when he foil and expired. General 
Davidson, iu an attempt to c-hani^o his position (hn^ing 
the action, in order to occupy the front of the enemy, 
came between the light of his own fires and the advan- 
cing cohnnu of the British. A well directed volley from 
them prostrated him with a number of his men. The 
militia became dispirited after this disaster, and precipi- 
tately retreated. A militavy race then began, between the 
respective opponents, in which Cc>rnwallis pursued Greene 
into A'irginia. The British conunander, content with this 
seeming success, and desiring to recruit his force for a 
more etlectual prosecution of his march into Virginia, fell 
back upon Ilillsboro, North Carolina, where he raised the 
royal standard and summoned the loyalists to rally beneath 
it. To defeat this object, Greene rc-crossed the river Dan, 
and imcc more drew the attention o( the Britisli upon 
himself. A detachment of his force, under command of 
Pickens, fell in with a force of the loyalists led by a colo- 
nel Pyles, and cut them to pieces. Another body of to- 
ries, about the same time, were destroyed by the rash and 
sanguinary Tarleton, by whom tlu\v were mistaken for 
*' rebels." These disasters did not come singly, and their 
accumulation, with other circumstances, began to open 
tlie eyes of Cornwallis to his own danger. " He was 
surrounded," — in his own language to the British minis- 
try — '* by inveterate enemies and timid friends ;" and to 
fight and conquer Greene, became now as much a matter 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 203 

of necessity as it had before been one of choice. The 
Americans were gathering strength by daily accessions. 
The tories were growing cold in a contest, which, how- 
ever successful at first, had been pregnant with defeats 
and dangers ; and the severe lessons which the British had 
received at King's Mountain and at Cowpens, had taught 
them to indulge in gloomy anticipations, which needed but 
the maturinji influence of time for fullest confirmation. 

Numberless minor events, small combats, and skillful 
manceuverings, while they emboldened the Americans 
and their general, prepared the way for the more important 
issue which was to follow. The two main armies, after 
various marchings and counter-marchings, prepared to 
stake the issue finally on the sword. The scene of action 
was at Guilford Court House. The battle was fought on 
the 15th of March, 1781. It was waged with great ob- 
stinacy and valor, and the victory remained long in sus- 
pense. Discipline, at length, achieved its natural tri- 
umph over the irregular force of the Americans. Half 
of Greene's force were untried militia. But five hundred 
of his men had ever seen service. The veteran volun- 
teers under Pickens, had been dispatched some time 
before to South Carolina, where they were imperatively 
demanded to meet the black brigades which the British 
were seeking to embody in that quarter; and the regular 
troops that remained, consisting of the infantry of the 
legion, a little corps of Delawares, and the 1st regiment 
of Maryland, formed the only portion of the American 
army that could be compared with the British. These 
did not exceed two hundred and eighty-one in number ; 
yet, unassisted, they drove from the field in the first in- 



20 i THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Stance, the 33d regiment, three hundred and twenty-two 
strong, supported by the yagers and light infantry of the 
guards. The Virginians behaved with no less valor, 
though with less experience. They maintained a long 
and arduous conflict with the whole British line, and only 
sunk at the push of the bayonet, for which they were neith- 
er prepared by practice nor the possession of the proper 
weapons. The victory remained with the enemy; but 
the advantage with the Americans. The former lost six 
hundred and thirty-three men, killed, wounded and miss- 
in? ; of these, one colonel and four commissioned officers 
died on the field ; colonel Webster and several others re- 
ceived mortal wounds; General O'Hara's recovery from 
his wounds was long doubtful ; colonel Tarleton, and gen- 
eral Howard, a volunteer, with twenty other commis- 
sioned officers, were wounded. The victory must have 
been with the Americans, but for the unmilitary flight, in 
the beginning of the action, of the North Carolina militia, 
and the second regiment of Marylanders. The loss of 
the Americans was about four hundred. Greene retired 
over Reedy fork, about three miles from the scene of 
action ; while Cornwallis remained in possession of the 
ground, but too much crippled to pursue his enemy. 

Three days after his victory, his lordship destroyed all 
his baggage, left his hospital and wounded, and fled 
towards the sea-coast, leaving the whole of the country 
behind him in the possession of the Americans. Greene 
pursued, but without overtaking the British ; while Corn- 
wallis, after a brief delay at Wilmington, hurried on to 
that junction with the British forces in Virginia, under 
major general Philips, and the traitor Arnold, which 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 205 

resulted in the siege and surrender of Yorktown, one of 
the most brilliant events in the progress of the war, and 
which greatly assisted to decide it. 

While these events were in progress in North Carolina, 
the whigs in South Carolina were every where gathering 
in arms. The absence of Cornwallis had withdrawn 
from the state that superior body by which he had held 
it in subjection. Pickens, M'ith his brigade, was opera- 
ting between Ninety Six and Augusta ; and Lee, with his 
legion and a part of the second Maryland regiment, was 
advancing to co-operate with Marion. General Sumter, 
though not yet fully recovered of his wounds received at 
Blackstock's, had drawn his men to a head, and had pen- 
etrated to the Congaree, which he crossed early in Feb- 
ruary, and appeared before P'ort Granby. Such was the 
Vigor with which he pressed the fort, that his marksmen, 
mounted upon a temporary structure of rails, had reduced 
the garrison to the last straits, when they were relieved by 
the unexpected approach of succor under lord Rawdon, 
who appeared on the opposite bank of the river. Unable 
to contend with the superior force of the British, Sumter 
made a sudden retreat ; and two days after, captured an 
escort of the British regulars going from Charlestown to 
Camden with stores, in w^agons, which yielded a booty 
equally necessary to both parties. Thirteen of the Brit- 
ish were slain, and sixty-six made prisoners ; the wagons, 
containing a profusion of provisions, clothing, arms, and 
ammunition, fell into his hands. Proceeding with his ac- 
customed rapidity, he swam the Santee river with three 
hundred men, and appeared next before Fort Watson. 
From this point he was again driven by Rawdon, who 

18* 



206 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

marched to its relief. He then retired to the swamps on 
Black river, where he remained, though not inactive, for 
awhile. 

Emerging from this retreat, he was attacked near Cam- 
den by major Fraser, at the head of a considerable force 
of regulars and militia ; but the major was defeated after 
a severe handling, in which twenty of his men were 
slain. Sumter, after this event, retired to the borders of 
North Carolina, where he contrived to increase his force 
to three small regiments of state troops. His return, 
with that of the continental army, renewed the war in 
South Carolina with more regularity and vigor. 

Marion had been as busy in his fastnesses as his great 
contemporary Sumter ; and while Greene and the conti- 
nentals gave full employment to the reg^ular British army, 
his little brigade had met the tories in a spirit not unlike 
their own. Their savage murders, wanton excesses, 
and bitter cruelties — their house-breaking and house- 
burning — their blasphemies, impieties and horrors, — 
had put them completely out of the pale of military civili- 
zation. " No quarter to the tories," became the cry of 
the brigade when going into battle ; and with this spirit, 
and guided by the skill and intelligence of their leader, 
the career of the partisans was as sleepless and rapid as 
its temper was now unsparing and vindictive. To conquer 
merely, was not to complete the purpose for which they 
fought — to destroy, was their object also ; and so resolute 
had they shown themselves, and so active and vigilant, 
that to root them out was as difficult as it had become de- 
sirable. A new and well concerted attempt to annihilate 
this body, was arranged between colonels Watson and 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 207 

Doyle. The former was to move down from Camden 
along the Santee, — the latter was to cross Lynch's creek, 
and follow its course on the eastern bank. They were to 
unite their forces near Snow's island, which was the favor- 
ite hiding place of the "brigade." 

Marion heard first of the approach of Watson, and went 
out with his whole force to meet him. At Taucaw swamp, 
nearly opposite to the mouth of the present Santee canal, 
he laid an ambush for him, which he placed under com- 
mand of colonel Horry. At this time he had but a few 
rounds of ammunition for each man. His orders to Hor- 
ry, were, to give two fires and retreat. A second ambush 
was placed in a contiguous situation, which promised 
certain advantages. This was a party of cavalry, under 
the command of captain Conyers. Horry's ambuscade 
gave its fires with great effect, but was compelled to retire. 
Watson, having made good, his passage of the swamp, 
sent a detachment of cavalry, under major Harrison, in 
pursuit of Horry. This detachment was encountered by 
Conyers, who slew Harrison with his own hand. His 
party was dispersed after suffering severe loss from the 
charge of Conyers. Marion, too feeble to assail his op- 
ponent openly, continued in this way to embarrass his 
progress and weaken his force, until they had reached 
nearly to the lower bridge on Black river, seven miles 
below King's tree. Here Watson made a feint of taking 
the road to Georgetown. Too weak to detach a party to 
the bridge, Marion took an advantageous position on that 
road. Suddenly wheeling, Watson changed his course 
and gained possession of the bridge on the western side. 
This gave him the opening to a very important pass, lead- 



208 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

ing- into the heart of Williamsburgh and to Snow's island. 
The river on the west runs under a high bhitV; the 
grounds on the east side are low, and the stream, though 
generally fordable, was at that time swollen by I'reshets, 
so as nearly to reaeli the summit of the opposite shore. 
This prospeet seemed to appal the Bvitish eolonel. 
While he hesitated, the less wary partisan led the way 
for his troop, plunged in, and safely reaching the opposite 
banks, marched forward to occupy the eastern end of the 
bridge. Marion detached major James with forty musk- 
eteers, and thirty riileinen under McCotlry, to burn tho 
bridge. 

The riflemen were posted to ad^'antage, and under 
cover, on the river bank. The attempt of the musket- 
eers to burn the bridge, drew upon them the lire of Wat- 
son's artillery. Against this Marion had provided, and 
the artillerists of the enemy were picked oif by McCot- 
try's rifles, as fast as they approached to apply their 
matches to the gun. The bridge was tired and con- 
sumed in the face of the enemy, who, baflled and ha- 
rassed, turned from tho pursuit of the wary partisan, and 
proceeded by forced marches to Georgetown. lUit he 
was not sullered to leave behind him the foe whom his 
pursuit had seemed only to awaken. Marion hung upon 
his progress, — now upon his flanks, now in front, and 
now in the rear — while his rifles exacted heavy toll from 
the enemy at every mile in their journey, Watson, at last, 
reached Georgetown in safety; but the implacable rifle- 
men had followed his flying footsteps till the last moment. 
Never had man been more harassed ; and the complaint 
of Watson, that Marion would not flght like a christian 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 209 

and a gentleman, has passed, from its ludicrous solemnity, 
into a proverbial phrase of merriment in the south. 
Doyle, the coadjutor of Watson, was encountered in like 
manner, and with similar results. A single conflict 
drove him back to Camden, with a considerable loss in 
men, and a greater loss in baggage. 

This affair was followed, on the part of the brigade, by 
a sharp conflict with a body of tories. These were rout- 
ed and their captain slain. A nephew of Marion also fell 
in the conflict. A second descent which Marion made 
upon Georgetown about this time, was more successful 
than the first. It fell into his hands, but was afterwards 
set on fire by an armed party from a British vessel, and 
upwards of forty houses were reduced to ashes. 

After the return of general Greene into South Carolina, 
which followed the flight of Cornwallis into Virginia, 
Marion ceased to act independently. The exploits of 
his brigade, no longer acting by itself, became merged in 
those of the liberating army. 



CHAPTER XX. 

At no period had opposition entirely ceased to the 
British arms in South Carolina. In the worst hour of 
her misfortunes, there were still some noble bands of her 
sons, few in number, but fearless in spirit, that maintained 
her banner among the swamps and forests ; always 
watchful of the occasion when to sally forth and wreak 
fearful vengeance on the invaders, in the moment of 
their greatest seeming security. To the names of Sum- 
ter, Marion and Pickens, may be added those of Harden, 
Hampton, Huger, Horry and others, who distinguished 
themselves from the beginning ; and, in the course of the 
conflict, a new race of youthful warriors sprang up to take 
the places of those who had been slain, and afford a 
respite to the labors of others, who had kept the field 
from the first moment when the British cannon thundered 
in hostility upon her shores. It does not fall within the 
plan of this work to record the smaller events, and 
assign the due praise to every young hero who acquired 
just renown in the service of his country. It is enough 
to say, that Carolina, from the opening of the campaign 
of 1780, became one vast and bloody battle field, in which 
nearly all of her sons contended. Unhappily, they too 
often contended with one another, and it is with a senti- 
ment of melancholy pleasure that we record the fact, that 
the direst issues that ever took place within her borders — 
the severest trials of strength and the most fearful con- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 211 

flicts — were those in which her own sons were pitted 
against each other. The invaders gained their chief 
victories by the arms of native citizens. 

The flight of Cornwallis into Virginia enabled Greene 
to direct his undivided attention to the remaining enemy 
in CaroUna, and on the 19th of April, 1781, he sat down 
with his main army before Camden, On the 15th of the 
same month, general Marion, having the legion of colonel 
Lee under his command, invested Fort Watson on the 
Santee. This was a stockade fort, erected on one of the 
largest of the many ancient mounds which skirt this riv- 
er. It was elevated about forty feet from the level of 
the plain, and far from any eminence which could com- 
mand it. Its garrison consisted of about eighty regulars 
and forty loyalists, commanded by lieutenant McKay of 
the regular troops. Unprovided as he was with artillery, 
it was impregnable to Marion. Its steep sides and strong 
palisades discouraged any attempt to storm it. 

One of the first efforts made to subdue it, was by cutting 
the garrison off from Scott's Lake, by which it was sup- 
plied with water. From this danger McKay relieved him- 
self by sinking a well within the stockade. Thus foiled, 
and without artillery, the besiegers must finally have been 
baffled, but for one of those ingenious devices which are 
perhaps more readily found by a primitive than an ed- 
ucated people. At a short distance from the fort, there 
grew a small wood which suggested the proper means 
of annoyance. The trees were felled, and the timber 
borne on the shoulders of the men, was piled crosswise, 
under cover of the night, within a proper distance of the 
fort. This enabled them to command the fort, and with 



212 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

the dawn of day, when the light enabled the riflemen to 
single out their victims, the garrison found themselves 
overawed by their assailants. A shower of bullets drove 
them from their defences, and left them no alternative but 
submission. The capitulation of the fort soon followed ; 
and pushing his prisoners before him, Marion, after this 
success, hurried his force forward to effect a junction 
with Greene. The advance of Marion brought on the 
battle of Hobkirk's Hill. 

Camden, before which the main army lay, is a beautiful 
village, situated on a plain covered on the south and east 
sides by the Wateree, and a creek which empties itself 
into that river. On the western and northern sides, it 
was guarded by six strong redoubts. It was garrisoned 
by lord Rawdon with about nine hundred choice troops. 
Hobkirk's Hill, where Greene took post, was about a 
mile and a half in advance of the British redoubts. It is 
a narrow sand ridge of little elevation, which divides the 
head springs of two small branches, the one emptying 
into the Wateree river, the other into Pine Tree creek. 
The American force did not much exceed eight hundred 
men, and the strong defences of Camden, and his own 
want of sufficient artillery, were sufficient reasons to keep 
him from making any attempts upon that place. But this 
inferiority did not induce any timidity on the part of the 
American commander. Having made his arrangements 
and posted his sentinels w^ith singular precaution, Greene 
neglected no occasion to seduce or provoke his enemy to 
come out from his defences and give him battle. The 
fall of Fort Watson, and the approach of the force under 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 213 

Marion to a junction with the main army, had the effect 
of bringing about Greene's object. 

On the 25th of April, lord Rawdon, arming his mu- 
sicians, drummers, and every person within his encamp- 
ment by whom a weapon could be borne, sallied forth 
with great spirit to the attack. It has been said by 
some writers, that Greene sufTered himself to be surprised 
in this affair ; but this is an error. The attack was made 
on the very quarter in which the American general was 
most prepared. The pickets behaved with the utmost 
coolness, gathering in the videttes, and forming with 
great deliberation under colonel Kirkwood's Delaware 
command. His position formed the American advance, 
and met the first shock of the enemy's charge. Here the 
contest was maintained for awhile with singular obstinacy, 
and this little squad retired slowly, fighting with resolute 
determination, step by step, as they receded before the ac- 
cumulating pressure of the foe. Lord Rawdon's line was 
composed of the 13th regiment on the right, the New 
York volunteers in the centre, and the American loyalists 
on the left. The right was supported by Irish troops, 
and the left by a detachment under captain Robertson. 

The regiment posted with the cavalry, was raised in 
South Carolina, so that on this bloody day, the number of 
European troops engaged was very small. Most of 
Rawdon's army were American by birth. Nearly one 
half of his troops were in reserve ; the front which he 
advanced was comparatively small. He had, besides, ta- 
ken a lesson from the American leaders, and employed 
flanking parties of picked loyalist riflemen, who moved 
abreast of his wing among the trees, and did much 

19 



214 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

towards deciding the issue of the day. The fall of two 
of the best American officers in the beginning of the 
fight, was the cause of a most unfortunate disorder which 
followed among the troops. 

The front of Greene's army presented his whole force. 
Two Virginia regiments, undergeneralHiiger, were posted 
on the right of the road ; two Maryland, under colonel 
Williams, on the left. The first Virginia, under lieutenant 
colonel Campbell, was on the right of the whole ; the 
second Maryland, under lieutenant colonel Ford, on the 
left. The second Virginia, under lieutenant colonel 
Hawes, and the first Maryland, commanded by colonel 
Gunby, formed the centre. Greene, conjecturing that the 
enemy knew nothing of his having artillery — which had 
reached him only a little time before the action — had 
closed the two centre regiments before it, so that it was 
completely masked. The effect may well be imagined, 
when these two regiments, suddenly retiring from the 
centre, left them free to vomit their showers of grape 
upon the dense ranks of the enemy preparing for the 
charge. The confusion and dismay were conspicuous. 
The squadrons sank, and wheeled, and fled, beneath the 
terrible discharge ; and nothing more seemed to be neces- 
sary than to give the command, to close upon their flanks 
with the regiments right and left and cut them off from 
escape. The order was given. " Let the cavalry make 
for their rear ; colonel Campbell will wheel upon their 
left ; colonel Ford upon their right ; the whole centre 
will charge — charge with trailed arms." 

Such were the commands of Greene, which his aids 
rushed to convey to the several captains. The roll of 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 215 

the drums announced their tenor, and Washington, at 
the head of his cavalry, disappeared among the trees 
which lay between his troop and the rear of the ene- 
my. The American general already believed his vic- 
tory to be secure ; but he had no ordinary adversa- 
ry in Rawdon. With the quickness of instinct, this 
commander threw out his supporting columns, and the 
Americans, but a moment before in the fullest conviction 
that they had outflanked the enemy, were themselves 
outflanked. Their winos were enfiladed and their rear 
threatened. At this crisis, when every thing depended 
upon the greatest coolness and a composure which might 
look undaunted upon the scene, the first Maryland 
regiment, by excellence esteemed, in the language of 
Roman eulogium, the tenth legion of the American army 
— that band to which all eyes were turned for example, 
which had conquered the British with their own weapon, 
the bayonet, at the noble passage of valor at the Cow- 
pens — which, alone, had fought half of the battle at 
Guilford, and obtained more than half of the triumph of 
that no less bloody day — now, unaccountably, shrunk 
away from the issue, in a panic which could not be 
overcome. 

Greene, at this moment, was leading on the Virgin- 
ian regiment of Campbell in person, on the extreme 
right, when he was called away by the confusion of the 
centre. Vainly, by voice and gesture, did he seek to re- 
store their confidence, and bring them once more into the 
action. They heard and halted ; but the day was already 
lost. They were already at the bottom of the hill, and the 
cheers and clamors of the enemy now commanded his at- 



216 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

tention in another quarter. Urging his horse up the emi- 
nence, he saw for the first time the utmost extent of his 
misfortune. But a single regiment remained entire ; his 
artillery was uncovered on the summit of the hill. To 
bring his troops off in order, and to save the artillery, were 
the only remaining objects ; and, amid a shower of bullets, 
the American general delivered his commands with 
composure, to draw off the right and left regiments and 
form them on that of Gunby, which was now rallied ; 
while their retreat should be covered by the second 
Virginia. This order, well executed, left to Greene the 
choice of deliberate retreat or a renewal of the battle. 
During its execution, the main efforts of the British were 
to secure possession of the artillery. Horse and foot 
were ascending the hill, and the matrosses were about to 
fly, when the American general applied his own hand to 
the drag ropes. This example was not to be withstood. 
A little band rallied to their rescue, bearing their loaded 
muskets in one hand while applying the other to the 
ropes. The fight was renewed in this endeavor. A' 
British corps appeared on the hill moving to the charge. 
Dropping the ropes, the little troop, forming in the rear of 
the artillery, met them with a fire, which, repeated with 
deliberate resolution until escape was impossible, was 
terribly destructive. Thrice was the attempt renewed 
and with the same effect. The assailants were driven 
off with loss, until an overpowering force of infantry and 
riflemen came to their assistance, and every man of this 
gallant little band, but forty-five in number, was either 
killed or taken. The artillery now seemed lost ; but at 
this crisis, colonel Washington charged in upon the road 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 217 

and put an end to the strife around it. This gentleman, 
in addition to the rescue of the artillery, captured more 
than two hundred prisoners. His humanity is alledged 
by the British to have been detrimental to his objects. 
A severe military judgment insists that he should have 
cut down instead of making captives. His prisoners 
encumbered his movements, and the time lost in taking 
them might have been of lasting benefit if it had been 
employed mercilessly upon the British rear. 

Rawdon was not in a condition to pursue the Americans 
far. The latter halted at a distance of two miles to recov- 
er stragglers and take refreshment. At noon, the retreat 
was resumed, and the army finally encamped at Sanders* 
Creek, about four miles from the scene of action, to which 
place Washington was ordered back to reconnoitre. As 
he proceeded in obedience to this order, he was told that 
Rawdon had returned to Camden, leaving captain Coffin 
with his cavalry, and a body of mounted infantry in charge 
of the field of battle. This intelligence suggested to Wash- 
ington the prospect of a new achievement. Returning 
with his cavalry into a thicket on the road side, he pushed 
forward a small detachment, with orders to approach 
under covert, until within a short distance of the enemy's 
position. His stratagem produced the desired effect ; 
Coffin's whole troop pursued and fell into the ambuscade. 
Washington rose from his hiding place as they reached 
it, and the whole party were either cut to pieces or com- 
pelled to save themselves by flight. The field of Hobkirk, 
thus actually remained in possession of the Americans. 

The loss of the two armies in the main battle was nearly 
equal ; that of the British, by reason of the artillery which 

19* 



218 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

the Americans brought into the field, being somewhat the 
greatest. The event did not discourage the American 
commander, and its resuUs thickened the difficuUies which 
at this time began to encompass the British. 

Very soon after the battle of Hobkirk, Greene detached 
a re-inforcement to Marion^ on the Nelson's Ferry road, 
and on the 3d of May crossed the Wateree, and took 
such positions as would enable him to prevent succors 
from going into Camden from that quarter. Rawdon, 
having received a considerable re-inforcement under 
Watson, again sallied out on the 8th of May, to bring the 
American general, if possible, to a second action. His 
only hope for the maintenance of the post, was in the 
defeat and destruction of the army under Greene. The 
latter was not ignorant of the straits to which his adver- 
sary was reduced, and all the efforts of Rawdon to force 
him into battle proved unavailing. 

The British commander, baflled and disappointed, 
wreaked his vengeance upon the town which he had so 
long garrisoned, but which he felt himself no longer able 
to maintain. Camden was reduced to ashes, and amidst 
the shrieks of its people, and the " curses, not loud, but 
deep," of the loyalists whom he could no longer protect, 
lord Rawdon prepared to descend the country. The fall of 
Fort Watson had broken the chain of communication with 
Charlestown, and Marion was even now busy in the leaguei: 
of Fort Motte. Having devastated the country, it no long- 
er yielded support to his troops. These he resolved to 
save, though by the loss of the post and the confidence of 
the tories. These miserable people, whose savage fury 
had so long hunted their countrymen with fire and sword, 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLHSTA. 219 

no longer protected from their vengeance by the arms of 
the British, were compelled to abandon their homes, and 
follow the fortunes of the enemy. They dared not await 
the justice of the Americans. Hundreds followed his 
lordship, scorned and despised by their allies and hated by 
their countrymen. Their history may be dismissed in this 
place. After sharing all the vicissitudes of an army 
retiring before a pursuing foe, they reached Charlestown 
and built for themselves a settlement of huts without the 
lines. This, by a miserable mockery, was called 
Rawdontown. Here, men, women, and children, were 
crowded together in a wretched condition of poverty and 
shame. They had dwelt happily on their farms near 
Camden; and perished in the utmost destitution ; utterly 
unnoticed and unassisted by those for whom they had 
sacrificed the ties of society, and all the first claims of 
country ; the victims equally of disease and want, they 
died, to use the emphatic language of that time, like 
** rotten sheep" upon the suburbs. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

The breaking up of the British post at Camden, how- 
ever unavoidable, was of essential disservice to the 
British cause. From that moment the numbers of the 
Americans increased — arms in their hands and indigna- 
tion in their hearts — following the footsteps of the re- 
treating army, and wreaking vengeance at every turn, for 
the long suffering and cruel indignities which they had 
undergone. To Rav/don it seemed as if the fabled teeth 
of the dragon had been sown around him, so prolific on 
a sudden was the increase among his foes. That this 
measure had become one of imperative necessity to the 
British commander, is unquestionable. With a strong 
enemy hanging upon his skirts, a dissatisfied population 
all around him ; — Marion and Lee, Sumter and Pickens, 
busy, with their accustomed promptitude, and operating 
upon the posts below which connected him with Charles- 
town, and secured him his only route of retreat to the sea- 
board ; — he had no alternative but to evacuate a station 
from which he had so long overawed the country, but 
which was now no longer tenable. The activity of the 
partisan bands below him, also demanded his early suc- 
cour for the several garrisons which they threatened. 
His own safety pressingly urged the propriety of his 
retreat. Greene simply awaited the arrival of recruits 
from Virginia, when, it was evident to Rawdon no less 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 221 

than to his opponent, that all his stores and resources 
must fall into the hands of the Americans. 

The hopes of the Carolinians grew doubly active at 
this period. The old revolutionary spirit which had 
distinguished the people at the time of the battle of Fort 
Moultrie, seemed once more to re-animate them. Squads 
of armed whigs sprang up simultaneously in every quar- 
ter of the state. Well mounted, and commanded by pop- 
ular leaders, they seemed endowed with the attributes of 
ubiquity, and appeared to the astonished Britons to be 
every where at once. The very names of Marion, 
Sumter, and Pickens, were productive of momentary 
panic ; and detachments from the troops of the two 
former generals, availing themselves of the flight of 
Cornwallis to Virginia, and the approach of Greene, 
carried their arms to the very gates of Charlestown. 

Major Harden, a gentleman of Beaufort, whose name 
furnished one of the rallying sounds of the revolution, 
was a chief instrument in the hands of Marion for carry- 
ing out the bold and expert achievements which have 
crowned their names with a local celebrity, as honorable 
as it is vivid and unperishing. With seventy select men, 
crossing the enemy's lines of communication, he ravaged 
the country in the face of the foe, from Monk's Corner to 
the Savannah river. His force gathered as it went for- 
ward, and was quickly increased to two hundred men. 
With a rapidity of movement which baffled pursuit, he 
combined a readiness and valor which made him success- 
ful in every encounter. To entrap him appeared as im- 
possible as pursuit of him was vain. The Savannah no 
longer remained a boundary, but throwing himself across 



222 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

from bank to bank, as circumstances required it, he be- 
came a terror to the loyalists of both provinces, extending 
his ravages from the seaboard to Augusta, and utterly de- 
feating every attempt to accumulate a force against him. 
This duty achieved, he joined the detachment under 
general Pickens, who was then operating against Augusta 
and Ninety Six. 

The fall of Camden led to the rapid overthrow of the 
enemy's chain of posts below, and completed the recov- 
ery of the state to within thirty miles of the sea. 
Greene, concluding, after the evacuation of this place by 
Rawdon, that it would be the enemy's object to withdraw 
his posts on the Congaree, and concentrate them below 
the Santee, dispatched expresses to Marion and Sumter, 
to prepare themselves for such an event. He himself, 
ordering the army to proceed by the Camden road for 
the Congaree, took an escort of cavalry and moved down 
in person to Fort Motte. At Mc Cord's ferry he received 
the tidings of the capitulation of this place. Fort Motte 
lies above the fork on the south side of the Congaree. 
The works of the British were built around the mansion 
house of the lady whose name it bore, and from which, 
in their savage recklessness of shame, the British officers 
had expelled her. It was a noble mansion of consid- 
erable value ; but not of so much value as to abridge the 
patriotism of the high spirited owner. Defended by a 
strong garrison, under a resolute commander, the fortress 
promised to baffle for a long time the progress of the 
besiegers. Under these circumstances, Mrs. Motte, who 
had been driven for shelter to a neighboring hovel, produ- 
ced an Indian bow, which, with a quiver of arrows, she 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 223 

presented to the Am(Tican commander. "Take these," 
she said, while presenting them, " and expel the enemy. 
These will enable you to fire the house." Her earnest 
entreaty that this course might be adopted, prevailed with 
the reluctant Marion. Combustibles were fastened to the 
arrows, which were shot into the roof of the dwelling; 
and the patriotic woman rejoiced in the destruction of 
her property, when it secured the conquest of her coun- 
trymen. Such, throughout the dreary war of the revolu- 
tion, was universally the character of the Carolina women. 
The sons fought, but who shall measure the aid and influ- 
ence which the daughters brought to the conflict? This 
will need a volume to itself. 

Driven out from their place of shelter, the garrison at 
Fort Motte was forced to surrender, and the force under 
Marion was ready for operation in other quarters. A 
portion of it, under colonel Lee, was immediately dis- 
patched by Greene, as the van of the army, for the reduc- 
tion of Fort Granby. The fall of Fort Motte increased 
the panic of the British, and two days after that event, 
they evacuated their post at Nelson's ferry, blew up the 
fortifications and destroyed their stores. Fort Granby, 
after a brief conflict, was surrendered with all its garrison, 
consisting of nearly four hundred men. The terms aflbrd- 
ed by colonel Lee, were greatly complained of by the 
Carolinians. These terms gave to the enemy the privi- 
lege of carrying off' their baggage, in which was included 
an immense quantity of plunder. The approach of lord 
Rawdon, with all his army, is said to have hastened the 
operations of Lee, and to have led to the liberal conces- 
sions which he made to the garrison ; but he has incurred 



224 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

the reproach of hastening the capitulation in order to an- 
ticipate the arrival of Sumter and the grand army. The 
siege had been begun some time before, by Sumter, who 
had left colonel Taylor, with a strong party, to maintain 
his position, while he made a sudden descent upon the 
enemy's post at Orangeburg, in which he was thoroughly 
successful. Sumter, himself, conceived that he had suf- 
fered injury by the capitulation, in which nothing was 
gained but the earlier possession of a post which could 
not have been held many days longer, and must have 
fallen, without conditions, and with all its spoils, into the 
hands of the Americans. It was with bitter feelings that 
the whig militia beheld the covered wagons of the ene- 
my, drawn by their own horses, which they knew to be 
filled with the plunder of their farms and houses, driven 
away before their eyes. 

On the 11th of May, the garrison at Orangeburg, to the 
number of one hundred, with all their stores and a large 
supply of provisions, surrendered to Sumter. 

From Giianby, Lee was sent to co-operate with Pick- 
ens against Augusta ; and three days after the fall of the 
former post, his legion was arrayed before the walls of 
the latter. Meanwhile, general Greene took up the line 
of march for Ninety Six, and on the 22nd of May he sat 
down before that formidable station. The reduction of 
this place was an object of the greatest interest. The 
village of Cambridge, or as it was called in that day, the 
post of Ninety Six, was, at this time, the pivot of very 
extensive operations. To possess it, therefore, was to 
give the finishing blow to the British strength in the 
interior of the state. The task of holdino^ lord Rawdon 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 225 

in check in Charlestown, was confided to Sumter and 
Marion. In the execution of this duty they closed in 
upon him, until he established a line of fortified posts, 
extending from Georgetown, by Monk's Corner, Dorches- 
ter, cfcc, to Coosawhatchie. The British were frequently 
harassed by the partisans, who made incursions within 
this line ; but the force of the assailants was not adequate 
to any serious attack upon any one of them, that of George- 
town alone excepted. This station having been left 
with a small garrison, and being separated from the rest 
of the line by swamps and water-courses of such magni- 
tude as to prevent any sudden relief from reaching it, 
was attacked and carried. The British fled to their 
gallies, while Marion deliberately moved all the military 
stores and public property up the Pedee, demolished the 
fortifications, and returned, without loss, to his position 
in St. Stevens. The fall of the British forts at Augusta 
followed this event, and the leading object of general 
Greene was the prosecution of the siege of Ninety-Six. 

This siege was one of the most animated occurrences 
of the American war. It lasted nearly a month. The 
place was remarkable on many accounts. It was the 
scene of the first conflict in the southern, and, perhaps, 
in the revolutionary war. In this place, in the year 1775, 
began that sanguinary hostility between the whigs and 
lories, which afterwards desolated the beautiful country 
around it. 

A peculiar circumstance invited the hostile parties to this 
spot. It had been surrounded with a stockade as a de- 
fence against the incursions of the Indians, whose settle- 
ments were then in its near neighborhood. The sLockade 

20 



226 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Still remained, and was improved and garrisoned by the 
British soon after they had obtained possession of Charles- 
town. It made a chief point in their chain of military 
posts, and was trebly important as it maintained an open 
communication with the Indians, kept in check the whig 
settlements on the west, and covered those of the loyalists 
on the north, south and east of it. It was the most advan- 
ced post of the royal army, was a depot of recruits, and 
contributed to the support of Camden and Augusta, in the 
overawing influence which they maintained upon the pop- 
ulation of the two states of South Carolina and Georgia. 

At the time that Greene commenced his siege, the post 
was under the command of colonel Cruger, with a garri- 
son of near six hundred men, all native Americans. Cru- 
ger himself was an American loyalist of New York, which 
state, with that of New Jersey, furnished the great body 
of his army. These had enlisted at an early period of 
the war, and were considered among the best soldiers of 
the royal army. The remaining portion of his force were 
riflemen recruited in the neighborhood — men, desperate 
from their social position, and marksmen of the first order. 
This latter body were conspicuous in the successful de- 
fence of the place. 

Cruger, on the approach of Greene, lost no time in pre- 
paring for his defence. He soon completed a ditch 
around his stockade, threw the earth upon it, parapet 
height, and secured it within by traverses and coverts, to 
facilitate a safe communication between all his points of 
defence. His ditch he farther secured by abbatis, and at 
convenient distances within the stockade erected strong 
block-houses of notched logs. Within this post he was 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 227 

in possession of a very respectable battery, of a star shape, 
with sixteen salient and returning angles, which commu- 
nicated with the stockade. This battery was defended by 
three pieces of artillery, on wheel carriages, which could 
be moved readily from one point to another. On the 
north of the village extends a valley, through which flows 
a rivulet that supplied the garrison with water. The 
county prison lying near, was fortified, and commanded 
the valley on the side next the village. On the opposite 
side of the valley, and within reach of the fire from the 
gaol, was a strong stockade fort with two block-houses, 
which covered the communication with the rivulet from 
that quarter. A covert way led from the town to the 
rivulet. 

Greene, when he beheld the strength of the place, 
apprehended the failure of his enterprise ; but this doubt 
did not discourage him from his design. He broke ground 
on the 23rd of May, and by the 3rd of June had completed 
his second parallel. The engineer of the American army 
was the celebrated Polish exile, Kosciusko. On com- 
pleting the first parallel, a mine, directed against the star 
battery of the enemy, was commenced under cover of a 
battery erected on his right. The work was pursued by 
the besiegers, day and night, without intermission. The 
troops labored alternately in the ditches, some on guard 
while others toiled, and even sleeping on their arms to 
repel the sallies of the besieged, which were bold and 
frequent, and resulted in long and spirited conflicts. The 
American works steadily advanced, however, in spite of 
these sallies ; but a fierce strife followed every step in 



228 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

their progress, and not a night passed without the loss of 
lives on both sides. 

As soon as the ground parallel was completed, the gar- 
rison was summoned to surrender. The demand was an- 
swered with defiance, and the siege was pressed. With 
time to complete the approaches of the beleaguering army, 
the fall of the garrison had been certain ; but the force of 
Greene was wretchedly inadequate. His recruits of 
militia from Virginia had failed to arrive ; the Carolina 
troops were all actively engaged in keeping Rawdon in 
check below ; while Cruger, with timely prudence, had 
incorporated with his army his negro laborers, and was 
farther aided from without by a marauding force under 
Cunningham, which materially interfered with the sup- 
plies, the recruits and general intelligence of the Ameri- 
cans. Still, the advance of the besiegers was such, that 
farther resistance would soon have been temerity. The 
Americans had completed their third parallel, and from 
wooden towers, the marksmen of the assailing army had 
succeeded in driving the British artillerists from their 
guns. To fire the houses of the garrison by means of 
burning arrows, such as had been employed in the capture 
of Fort Motte, was next resorted to by the Americans ; 
but Cruger freed himself from this danger by promptly 
throwinor off the roofs of his houses. The works of the 
besiegers were so near completion, that a farther defence 
of the place was limited to four days. Besides the towers 
before spoken of, one of which was within thirty yards of 
the enemy's ditch, the besiegers had several batteries of 
cannon within a hundred and forty yards, one of which so 
completely commanded the " star," that the garrison were 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 229 

compelled to shelter themselves behind bags of sand, 
which increased its elevation by three feet. Through 
these sand bags, apertures were left for the use of small 
arms by day, and the withdrawal of the sand bags, left 
embrazures for the employment of the cannon by night. 
Thus, for ten days, the besiegers and besieged lay watch- 
ing each other. During this time, not a man could show 
his head on either side, without incurring the shot of the 
riflemen. Still the garrison, though greatly suffering from 
the American fire, maintained its defence with a constancy 
that reflects the highest honor on its commander. That 
Cruger must have surrendered, that it would have been 
a wanton sacrifice of life for him to continue a conflict in 
such circumstances, was inevitable, but that he had been 
strengthened in his resolution by advices which had reach- 
ed him from without. 

Rawdon, re-inforced by three regiments from Ireland, 
had broken through the obstructions offered by the par- 
tisan forces under Marion, and was advancing by rapid 
marches to the relief of Ninety-Six. This important in- 
telligence had been conveyed to Cruger, and invigorated 
his defence. A woman was the instrument employed 
by the British for encouraging Cruger to protract the 
siege. Residing in the neighborhood, she had visited 
the camp of Greene, under some pretence of little mo- 
ment. The daughter of one tried patriot, and the sister 
of another, she had been received at the general's table 
and permitted the freedom of the encampment. But 
she had formed a matrimonial connection with a British 
officer, and the ties of love had proved stronger than 
those of any other relationship. In the opportunities 

20* 



230 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

thus afforded her, she contrived to apprize the garrison 
that she had a communication from lord Rawdon. A 
young loyalist received it from her lips, at a farm house 
in the neighborhood, and, under the fires of the sentinels, 
dashing successfully and at full speed by the pickets, he 
was admitted with hurras into the garrison. 

This circumstance rendered it necessary to abandon 
the siege or carry the place by assault. By mid-day, on 
the morning of the 18th of June, the different detachments 
of the army were in readiness. On the American left, 
against the star battery, lieutenant Duval, with a com- 
mand of Marylanders, and lieutenant Selden, with another 
of Virginians, led the forlorn hope. Close behind them 
followed a party furnished with hooks at the end of staves, 
and these were followed by the first Maryland and first 
Virginia, under colonel Campbell, prepared for the assault. 
These were marched, under cover of the approaches, 
to within a few yards of the enemy's ditch. The posts, 
rifle towers, and advanced works of the besiegers were 
all manned, with orders to clear the parapets of the 
garrison previous to the advance of the storming party. 
On the American right, against the stockade fort, major 
Randolph commanded colonel Lee's forlorn hope, sup- 
ported by the infantry of the legion, and captain Kirk- 
wood with the remains of the Delaware regiment. Duval 
and Selden were ordered to clear away the abbatis and 
occupy the curtain opposite them ; then, driving off the 
enemy from the sides of the angle thus occupied, to open 
the way for the billmen to pull down the sand bags. 
These overthrown, were to assist the party of Campbell 
in mounting to the assault. 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 231 

A discharge of cannon at noon was the signal for the 
parties to move. A blaze of artillery and small arms, 
directed to the point of attack, covered the forlorn hope 
in its smoke. Under its shade, this gallant band leapt 
into the ditch and commenced the work assigned them : 
but the enemy was prepared for them, and met the assault 
with valor and determination. Bayonets and pikes 
bristled above the parapet, and from the loop holes in the 
sand bags, poured an incessant stream of fire, which 
swept the slender ranks of the assailants. The form of 
the redoubt gave the defenders a complete command of 
the ditch ; and their coolness, and the comparative safety 
of their cover, enabled them to use it with complete 
success. 

Under the cross fire from opposite sections of the 
redoubt, the little band of Americans were mowed down 
with fearful havoc. Their leaders had both fallen, severely 
wounded, and two-thirds of their number lay bleeding 
and in death around them ; yet was the strife maintained 
for near three quarters of an hour, and the assailants, 
as if resolved on no other issues than death or victory, 
only retreated at length, at the express orders of their 
commander. In this conflict they obtained possession of 
the curtain, and in their retreat, though still under a 
galling fire from the garrison, they brought ofi'the greater 
number of their wounded comrades. Lord Rawdon, with 
twenty-five hundred fresh troops, appeared soon after in 
the neighborhood, and nothing was left to the American 
general but retreat. Had a few days of time been allow- 
ed to his approaches on Ninety-Six, or had the supplies 
of militia promised from Virginia reached him, the 



232 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

prize for wliich he struggled must have been in his pos- 
session. Now, baffled, if not beaten, he fell back slowly 
and sullenly before the pursuit of Rawdon, until the 
latter, weary of a chase which promised to be hope- 
less and, warned by circumstances which called him 
elsewere, abandoned equally the pursuit and the country. 
His marcb had served only to extricate Cruger from his 
immediate difficulty. The proofs were convincing all 
around him, that the day had gone by when a foreign foe 
could maintain itself among the recovering inhabitants. 
" Ninety-Six," in defence of which so much blood had 
been already shed, was therefore abandoned to the assail- 
ants from whom it had been so lately rescued ; and pite- 
ous, indeed, was the misery of the wretched loyalists 
whom this abandonment virtually surrendered to the 
rage of the long persecuted patriots. A fearful day of 
retribution was at hand, which they did not venture to 
await. At a season when their farms were most lovely 
in the promise of a plenteous harvest, they were compel- 
led to surrender them and fly. Vainly did their chiefs 
expostulate with Rawdon against his desertion of those 
who, to serve the cause of their sovereign, had incurred 
the enduring hostility of their countrymen. But the ne- 
cessity was not less pressing upon the British general than 
upon his wretched allies ; and with a last look upon their 
homes, a mournful cavalcade of men, women and children, 
prepared to abandon the fields of equal beauty and plenty, 
which their treachery to their country had richly forfeited, 
but for which they were still willing to perish rather than 
depart. Sullenly the strong men led the way, while, with 
eyes that streamed and still looked backward, the women 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 233 

and children followed reluctantly, and with souls full of 
wretchedness and grief. How bitterly in their ears, at 
such a moment, must have sounded the notes of that drum 
and trumpet which had beguiled them from the banners 
of their country to those of its invader ? What a pang to 
the bosoms of the fathers ; what a lesson to the sons, 
guiltless of the offence, yet condemned to share in its 
penalties. Surely, when the barbarian drum again sounds 
to war in Carolina, her children will find themselves all, 
with one heart, united under the same banner. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

The retreat of the British from Ninety-Six, while it en- 
couraged the whigs in that quarter, induced a very gen- 
eral apprehension that it would enable lord Rawdon, by 
the additional force which it afforded him, to re-establish 
all the posts which he had lately lost, to the southward 
of the Santee. After the flight of Cornwallis to Vir- 
ginia, the British commanders in South Carolina had con- 
tracted their operations almost entirely within that extent 
of country which is enclosed by the Santee, the Conga- 
ree, and Edisto. Within these limits, after the late re- 
treat of Greene, Rawdon had resolved to canton his for- 
ces, and the most eligible positions were examined with 
this object. But he soon found that the American gene- 
ral was not disposed to suffer the progress of this inten- 
tion, without endeavoring to arrest or disturb it ; and great 
was his surprise, accordingly, to hear that Greene, whom 
he had so lately driven before him, had faced about to 
give him battle upon the Congaree. Having divided his 
force, and given one part of it to colonel Stewart, who 
was stationed at Orangeburg, he felt himself unequal to 
the encounter; and following the dictates of veteran pru- 
dence, he fell back before the approaching Am^ericans, 
retreating hastily to this latter post, where he was shel- 
tered on one side by the Edisto, and on the other with 
strong buildings, little inferior to redoubts. In the ad- 
vance which Greene continued to make upon the retreat- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 235 

ing foe, an opportunity offered of striking a blow at his 
cavalry. Rawdon had with him but a small number of 
horse ; his chief strength in this description of troops 
being engaged in distant operations. Major Eggleston, 
with a strong body of the American cavalry, throwing 
himself in advance of the enemy, placed an ambush in 
reserve, and presented himself with a small number in 
view of the British. This drew upon him, as was antici- 
pated, an attack from the whole hostile cavalry. His 
flight seduced them to the thicket, where the rest of his 
troop was concealed, and their joint charges completely 
overwhelmed the foe. Many were slain, and forty-five 
men and horse, with several commissioned officers, with- 
in a mile of the whole British army, fell into the hands 
of the Americans. The flight of Rawdon to Orangeburg, 
stimulated by this event and the accumulating numbers 
and audacity of the Americans, was so precipitate, that 
more than fifty of the British army fell dead on the 
march, from fatigue, heat and privation. 

Greene encamped within five miles of Orangeburg, 
and offered battle to his antagonist. Secure in his strong 
hold, Rawdon did not venture to sally out ; and the force 
of the American general was too feeble to justify an at- 
tack upon him in his works. Several efforts which he 
made with his cavalry, to arrest the approach of supplies 
to the British, having proved abortive, and tidings having 
reached him of the advance of Cruger with fifteen hun- 
dred men to the relief of Rawdon, compelled general 
Greene to retire from a position which he could not have 
maintained against his foe after the junction with Cru- 
ger. A day before the junction was effected, he with- 



236 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

drew to tlie High Hills of Santee, while he meditated 
Other modes for the expulsion of the enemy from the 
strong position which he had taken on the Edisto. 

Having succeeded in driving Rawdon from Camden, 
by striking at the posts below, it was resolved to pursue 
a like plan of warfare, to compel the evacuation of 
Oranffeburof. In obedience to this resolution, Sumter 
and Marion, with their several commands, consisting 
chiefly of the state troops, and officered by most of those 
able partisans, the two Hamptons, Taylor, Horry, May- 
hem, Lacy and others, who had maintained the liberties of 
their country in the swamps, when they were too feeble 
to hold their ground in the field, were accordingly let 
loose, in an incursion into the lower country, which 
drove the enemy at all quarters for safety into Charles- 
town, and for a time, prostrated the royal power even 
to the gates of that place. 

While the partisans were sweeping down every path 
that led to the city, Greene, with the main army, pursued 
the road leading down the south side of the Congaree, and 
the east side of Cooper river. Various little successes 
distinguished the progress of the partisans. Colonel Wade 
Hampton charged a party of dragoons within five miles of 
Charlestown, and appearing before the walls of the city, 
occasioned a degree of alarm in the garrison, which could 
scarcely have been justified by the appearance of the 
whole American force. The bells were rung, alarm 
guns fired, and the whole force of the city confusedly 
gathered, and under arms. In this foray, Hampton cap- 
tured fifty prisoners, and after exhibiting them to the sen- 
tinels on the more advanced redoubts, coolly retired, 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 237 

without suffering interruption or injury. He also burn- 
ed four vessels, laden with valuable stores for the Brit- 
ish army. Lieutenant colonel Lee took all the wagons 
and wagon horses belonging to a convoy of provisions ; 
traversed Dorchester and the neighborhood, from which 
the garrison was expelled ; and, meeting with Hampton, 
proceeded to rejoin the main body, under Sumter. 

Meanwhile, a detachment of Marion's men, under 
colonel Mayhem, passing the head of Cooper river and 
Wadboo creek, penetrated below to the eastward of Big- 
gin church, to obstruct the retreat of the garrison at the 
church, by destroying the Wadboo bridge. The church 
near Biffsin bridge was a strong brick building, about a 
mile from Monk's Corner, where the British had a re- 
doubt. The church covered the bridge, and secured the 
retreat at that point by way of the Corner. It was 
strongly garrisoned by lieutenant colonel Coates, with a 
British force of nearly seven hundred men ; and the de- 
tachment under Mayhem did not dare to advance with any 
confidence while unsupported by the main American 
force, under Sumter. 

On the 16th of June, Sumter having collected the 
greater portion of his detachment, advanced to support 
Mayhem in his attempt upon the bridge. Re-inforcing 
his troop with a detachment under colonel Peter Horry, 
the command devolved upon the latter officer, who at 
once proceeded to the destruction of the bridge. The 
cavalry of the enemy advanced boldly to defeat his 
purpose, but were received by the mounted American 
riflemen, who broke entirely through them, killing some, 
and taking a number of prisoners. This defeat drew 

21 



238 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



out the British in such force, that the party engaged in 
destroying the bridge were compelled to fall back upon 
the main body. Sumter, believing that the British had 
marched out to give him battle, retired behind a defile, at 
a little distance in the rear, and prepared to receive the 
attack in the most advantageous position. 

But the British colonel had no such purpose. In pro- 
portion as the confidence of the Americans rose in the 
conflict, that of the invaders invariably fell. The pur- 
pose of Coates was simply to wear out the day. With 
the approach of night, he accumulated the stores of the 
garrison within the church, and having set fire to them, 
moved oflf on his flight to the eastward, by Wadboo 
and Quinby. The flames bursting through the roof 
of the sacred edifice, first informed Sumter of the flioht 
of the enemy. The pursuit was immediately commen- 
ced ; but, unfortunately, lieutenant Singleton, with a piece 
of artillery, was ordered to remain upon the ground, that 
he mio-ht not delay the movements of the infantry. Lee 
and Hampton led the pursuit, until, having passed the 
Wadboo, they discovered that the cavalry of the enemy 
had separated from the infantry, and had taken the route 
to the right. Hampton diverged in this direction, urging 
his panting horses to the utmost, in the hope to overtake 
them before they could effect their passage of the river. 
In this he was unsuccessful, and he returned only to wit- 
ness the equally fortunate escape of the enemy's infantry, 
the only remaining object of pursuit. Marion's cavalry 
had joined the legion cavalry of Lee, and about a mile 
to the north of Quinby creek, they overtook the rear guard 
of the retreating army, consisting of one hundred men. 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 239 

The furious onset of the cavalry deprived them ahuost 
of the power of resistance. They threw down their 
arms without firing a gun. Colonel Coates having pass- 
ed Quinby bridge, had already commenced its demoli- 
tion, and only awaited the passage of the rear guard and 
his baggage, to complete its destruction. The planks 
which covered the bridge were already loosened from 
their sleepers, and a howitzer, at its opposite extremity, 
was so placed as to protect the party engaged in throwing 
them off. As the rear guard had been overcome without 
any fight, no alarm gun had been fired, no express had 
been sent to apprise the British commander of his dan- 
ger, and he was almost wholly unprepared for his defence. 
The panic, by which he had lost one important part of 
his force, had nearly involved the annihilation of the re- 
mainder. He happened, however, fortunately for him- 
self, to be at the bridge when the American cavalry came 
rushing into view. His main body was, at this moment, 
partly on the causeway, on the south side of the bridge, and 
partly pressed into a lane beyond it. Thus crowded, they 
were wholly disabled from immediate action. Coates, 
nevertheless, coolly prepared himself as well as he might, 
to remedy the difliculties of his situation, and make his re- 
sistance as effectual as possible. Orders were dispatched 
to his troops on the advance, to halt, form, and march up, 
while the artillerists were called to the howitzer, and the 
fatigue party to the renewal of their labors for the destruc- 
tion of the bridge. 

If the situation of the British was thus perilous, that of 
the pursuing Americans, for a time, became scarcely less 
so. The planks sliding into the water, and the open jaws 



240 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

of the howitzer, ready to send destruction into their 
crowded ranks, left them little time for deliberation. 
Pressing upon each other, a dense mass upon a narrow 
causeway, they felt that the withdrawal of the enemy's 
fatigue party from the destruction of the bridge, would be 
the signal for applying the lighted port-fire to the howit- 
zer. A moment longer, and the iron hail would have 
mowed down their columns. 

The front section of the American force was led by 
captain Armstrong, of Lee's legion. He saw the clanger, 
and availed himself of the sinole moment that was left 
him. Dashing over the bridge, he drove the artillerists 
from the gun. Lieutenant Carrington followed ; the third 
section advanced, but faltered. Mayhem, at the head of 
Marion's men, feeling the halt, charged by the legionary 
cavalry ; but the death of his horse arrested his progress. 
Captain McCauley, who led his front section, pressed on, 
passed the bridge, and joined in the fierce melee, hand to 
hand, that was going on upon the causeway beyond. 

This narrow passage was now crowded, and a conflict, 
no less confused than desperate, followed their encounter. 
Some of the working party, snatching up their guns, 
delivered a sins^le fire and then fled. Two of Lee's 
dragoons fell dead at the mouth of the howitzer, and 
several were badly wounded. Still the others remained 
unhurt. Coates, with his oflicers, covered by a wagon, 
opposed them with their swords, while the British in- 
fantry hurried forward to find an opening in which they 
might display. Lee, meanwhile, had arrived, and was 
engaged with Mayhem and Dr. Irving, his surgeon, in 
repairing the bridge, so as to enable the rest of his force 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 241 

to cross to the relief of the few brave men who had 
effected the passage, while yet the planks remained upon 
the sleepers. 

At this moment, Armstrong and McCauley discovered 
themselves to be alone. Their men had failed to cross 
the bridge while the passage was available, and, of the 
few by whom they had been followed, but a single soldier 
remained. Coates and his officers occupied the causeway, 
protected by a wagon in front, and until the plank which 
he had succeeded in casting from the sleepers could be 
restored, they could hope for no assistance from their 
countrymen. Had they been promptly followed, the 
enemy might have been cut in pieces. Now, they beheld 
nothing but the seeming certainty of their own fate. The 
resolution of these brave men, in this predicament, was 
equally prompt and decided with that which had involved 
them in it. They knew that they should be safe from the 
fire of the enemy in front, as long as Coates and his 
officers were in the rear ; and boldly urging their way 
through the confused bodies still flying along the cause- 
way, they rapidly passed over it, gained the woods, and 
wheeling to the left, escaped without hurt, within the 
shelter of the forest. 

Colonel Coates having succeeded in throwing the plank 
from the bridge, and thus briefly delaying the advance of 
the cavalry, retired to the Shubrick plantation, adjoining, 
and took post under cover of its numerous buildings. At 
three o'clock, the detachment of Sumter reached the 
ground. He found the enemy drawn up and ready to 
receive him. As the American force consisted chiefly 
of riflemen and cavalry, and very few had bayonets, it 

21* 



242 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

would have been madness to advance directly to the 
attack. The precedent of King's mountain furnished the 
partisan with his order of battle. His own brigade, led 
by colonels Middleton, Polk, Taylor and Lacey, were 
ordered to reach and occupy a line of negro houses. 

Marion's brigade, at that time very much reduced, was 
thrown into two divisions, and ordered to advance on the 
right of the enemy, having no shelter but fences, and 
these within short gun shot of the house which the 
British occupied. The several parties moved to the 
attack with alacrity. Sumter's brigade soon gained the 
negro houses in their front, and from these directed their 
rifles with great effect. Colonel Thomas Taylor, with a 
small command of forty-five men, pressed forward to the 
fences of the enemy's left, from whence he delivered his 
fire. This drew upon him the British bayonet, which 
compelled his retreat. Marion's men, as they beheld 
this, with the coolness and intrepidity of veterans, rush- 
ing through a galling fire, extricated Taylor, and from the 
imperfect covering of the fences, continued the fight until 
not a charge of ammunition remained among them. All 
who fell in the action were of Marion's command. 

The British maintained their defence from within the 
houses, and from a picketed garden, till the sun was 
down. The Americans were then* drawn off, after a 
conflict of three hours, in which they lost forty men 
killed and wounded. The British loss was seventy 
killed ; their force nearly doubled that of the Americans, 
and were chiefly composed of Irish troops, but for whose 
inexperience in the use of fire-arms, the loss of Marion's 
men must have been infinitely greater than it was. Sum- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 243 

ter was compelled to forego any farther attempts upon 
his foe ; as, at the close of the engagement, there was not 
a single charge of powder among his men. 

The British lost in the several engagements, apart from 
the slain and wounded, the numbers of whom could never 
be accurately known, nearly two hundred prisoners, in- 
cluding nine commissioned officers, a large quantity of 
valuable stores, wagons and horses, and — a prize no less 
rare than valuable in the eyes of the starving Americans — 
seven hundred and twenty guineas, taken in the pay- 
master's chest, with the baggage at Quinby bridge. 

The expedition of Sumter, though not as successful as 
it might have been — for Coates' whole force might have 
been captured — was of the highest service, as it inspired 
the country with a wholesome confidence in its native 
valor. The troops actually engaged in the attack on 
colonel Coates, were almost exclusively South Carolina 
militia, and they displayed, with the vivacious audacity of 
the partisan, the firm, collected resolution of the drilled 
veteran. 

Marion's men amply demonstrated, when they brought 
off Taylor's division from the British bayonet, under the 
heaviest fire from their pickets, that nothing was wanting 
but military constancy, and the weapons of soldiers, to 
meet the best appointed troops of Europe. 



CHAPTER XXIIL 

These events, while they led to the concentration of 
the British forces, allowed a breathing spell to the Ameri- 
cans. Greene retired to the High Hills of Santee, where 
the condition of his army, two-thirds of the men of which 
were sick, rendered repose absolutely necessary. But 
this repose did not imply idleness. To discipline his 
troops, no less than to restore the sick, was a leading object 
of the commander. His mind was occupied with the 
necessity of grappling, on better terms of equalit)'-, with 
the two able British generals with whom he had already 
tried his strength. 

To drive Rawdon to Charlestown, and confine him 
within the limits of that city, under the control of a respec- 
table force, would enable him to turn his arms against 
Cornwallis, and secure, or at least contribute to the se- 
curing, of that formidable commander in Virginia. Such 
was his desire ; but the business on his hands proved 
too various, and his resources too few, for its perform- 
ance 'y and, fortunately for the cause of American liberty, 
Cornwallis found other foes, too numerous for his safety 
or escape, in the state which he had invaded. 

While Greene lay at the Hills, Marion, with his 
brigade, traversed the Santee with a success and an ac- 
tivity that did not suffer diminution because of the intense 
heats of August. He was still the same cautious but en- 
terprising, bold yet vigilant captain ; — always in motion^ 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 245 

and always successful, that he had ever shown himself 
from the first. His contemporary, Sumter, at the same 
time, with no less activity, returned to the Ninety-Six 
district, where the sanguinary war of whig and tory had 
been renewed among the inhabitants, with a ferocity 
commensurate to the forbearance which they had so long 
shown of necessity, and to that hatred which was not 
naturally the consequence of their adverse principles. 

With the lawlessness of professed banditti, the several 
parties ravaged the possessions of their opponents, 
sparing no plunder and hesitating at no crime. To sup- 
press these parties, overawe discontents, and capture the 
ring-leaders, gave full employment, for some time, to the 
arms of this active partisan. The wretches thus captured, 
would have been subjected to vindictive and summary jus- 
tice, by the arm of martial law, but for the re-establish- 
ment of civil power in the state, from which it had been 
withdrawn during the presence everywhere of the British 
forces. 

The return of governor Rutledge to the state, and the 
restoration of the regular authority, together with the arri- 
val of a re-inforcement of troops from North Carolina, 
contributed to strengthen Greene's armv, and encourasre 
him in the hope that he should be able to pursue his 
objects, and press the British downward to their sole 
strong hold in the city. The only enemy of force before 
him, was colonel Stewart, who had been left by lord 
Rawdon in command at Orangeburg. Sumter's incursion 
into the low country, had drawn his lordship with some 
precipitation down to Charlestown, where he only remain- 



246 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

ed long enough to sully his military honors by numberless 
acts, equally sanguinary and shameful. 

The reverses of the British arms had embittered the 
temper of their leaders, and they seemed to think, that in 
deeds of cruelty alone could they lessen the mortification 
of defeat. One of these deeds, as it has already received 
the general reprobation of the American world, and as it 
indicates the temper in which the invaders of Carolina 
treated and beheld her sons, should receive particular 
attention. This was the wanton execution, without trial 
and against law, of a noble Carolinian, taken in arms 
against the enemy, and hung by the joint command of lord 
Rawdon and lieutenant colonel Balfour, who held the 
post of commandant of the city. 

Colonel Isaac Hayne was a planter of South Carolina, 
of good nurture and family, and highly esteemed among 
his countrymen for his amiable manners and unblemished 
character. During the siege of Charlestown, he com- 
manded a troop of horse, and served his country at the 
same time as a senator in the state legislature. His corps 
of cavalry, which operated in the rear of the British army, 
and not within the city, did not share in the general cap- 
tivity of the citizens in the full of Charlestown. After 
that event, opposition being overawed throughout the state, 
this little corps, like nearly every other of the same kind, 
was disbanded, and Hayne returned with his family to the 
privacy of his plantation. The British traversed the state, 
which was at length declared to be conquered ; and the 
complete defeat of Gates at Camden, almost made it so. 
A miUtary government had been established over it imme- 
diately after the reduction of Charlestown, and successive 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 247 

commandants were appointed for the administration of its 
affairs, whose powers were left undefined, and were, 
indeed, dictatorial. 

Among these commandants, the most conspicuous was 
lieutenant colonel Balfour. He was a vain man, proud 
of his authority, and solicitous of its exercise. By the 
subversion of every trace of the popular government, 
without any proper civil establishment in its stead, he 
contrived, with the aid of a few coadjutors, to concentrate 
in his own person all powers, whether legislative, judi- 
cial, or executive, and exercised over the citizens a like 
authority with that which he possessed over the military. 
For the slightest ofTences, and on pretexts the most idle 
and insufficient, they were imprisoned in places the most 
loathsome. Some were incarcerated in the vaults beneath 
the Exchange, then termed the provost ; some were hur- 
ried on board the prison ships, denied to see their friends 
and families, and deprived, not only of their accustomed 
comforts, but of those necessaries which health and 
decency equally demanded. 

The fortune of war had thrown nearly five thousand of 
the Carolina troops into the hands of the British, and these 
were made to endure all the evils and hardships which it 
was in the power of vain insolence, malignant hostility, 
blind prejudice, or the accustomed arrogance of British 
officers towards their colonial dependents, to display. 
Under a policy no less short-sighted than inhuman, which 
so generally marked the proceedings of the British com- 
manders in America, they determined to break the spirit 
of the people to the will of their sovereign, and enforce, at 
the point of the sword, submission to their exactions. 



248 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Instead of seeking, by measures of judicious indul- 
gence, to beguile the Carolinians from those principles 
which had produced their disaffection to the royal author- 
ity — a course which might have had the desired effect, 
when we regard the closer sympathies which had dis- 
tinguished the Americans of the southern colonies, and 
particularly South Carolina, with the mother country, and 
the absence of any of those rival interests which lay at 
the foundation of the quarrel between England and the 
northern colonies — the unwise representatives of British 
dominion in Carolina, clothed in a little brief authority, to 
which their conduct proves them to have been unaccus- 
tomed, exasperated the people by their insolence, and 
provoked them to desperation by their unnecessary an- 
noyances and injuries. Considering the whole state as 
subdued, and freed from the wholesome fear of retribution, 
which might have induced them to pause in their progress 
of injustice, they, soon after the reduction of Charlestown, 
began to act toward the inhabitants, as rebels out of the 
pale of all indulgence, and only to be brought back to their 
duty by the scourge and sabre. Nor did they content 
themselves with administering to the supposed offenders 
the penalties of treason with their own hands. The 
bloody conflicts between the whigs and tories, which had 
begun in 1775, were renewed; and, under British sanc- 
tion and encouragement, the monstrous cruelties and 
crimes which distinguished that fratricidal warfare from 
1775 to 1780, had become faint impressions to those 
which followed that period. No language can do justice 
to, and visit with proper execration, the doings of that dis- 
mal civil war, which desolated the fair fields of Carolina, 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 249 

and deluged her dwellings with the tears and blood of her 
children. The ties of nature, of society, of neighborhood, 
were torn apart and trampled. Friendships and fellow- 
ships were sundered with the sword. Father and son 
stood with confronting weapons in opposite ranks, and 
brothers grappled in the gladiatorial embrace of the sav- 
age, goaded to constant strife by the shouts and rewards of 
the British conqueror. Under their favoring countenance, 
people of the worst character emerged from their hiding 
places in the swamp ; men of all sorts of crime ; thieves 
and murderers ; blood-painted and gallows-branded 
wretches, who needed but the halloo of the savage hunts- 
man, to spring upon the track of the unhappy fugitive. 
These drove the patriots from their hiding places and 
country, ravaged their possessions, burnt their dwellings, 
abused their women, slew their children, and converted 
the sweetest homes of happiness into places of sorrow or 
the most savage solitude. In the single district of Ninety- 
Six, there were no less than fourteen hundred widows 
and orphans made by this savage warfare. 

There was but one mode left for safety to those unhappy 
Carolinians, who, still devoted to their country's liberties, 
were yet liable to be torn and tortured through the 
bosom of their exposed and suffering families. This was 
to accept of the protection of British power against the 
aggravated excesses of their own infatuated country- 
men. This protection was granted only to those who 
claimed it as British subjects. To this wretched neces- 
sity, colonel Hayne was soon reduced. A mean artifice 
of a British officer seduced him from his plantation to the 
city, where he was closely imprisoned, and obtained his 

22 



250 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

release from this duress, only by subscribing a declaration 
of allegiance to the British crown. This he did, though 
not without expressly excepting to that clause which 
required him with his arms to support the royal govern- 
ment. His exception was replied to in language which 
might have soothed most minds, though, perhaps, it 
should not, strictly speaking, have satisfied any. He 
was verbally assured that such services would never be 
required at his hands. " When the regular forces of his 
majesty," were the words of the British officers, " need 
the aid of the inhabitants for the defence of the province, 
it will be high time for them to leave it." But they re- 
quired this aid much sooner than they imagined. 

The approach of Greene with his continentals ; the 
sudden uprising, almost at the same moment, of Marion, 
Sumter, Hampton, Davie, Harden, and a hundred other 
fearless partisans; their strange successes; their rapid 
movements, whether in assault or retreat ; the partial 
defeat of Cornwallis ; his flight to Virginia, and those 
crowding necessities which drove his successor, lord 
Rawdon, from Camden to the sea board ; — exasperated the 
passions of the British as much as they alarmed their 
fears. Hayne, having made his peace with the British 
government on the only terms which they would admit, 
had scarcely returned to his plantation, where he received 
the last breath of a dying wife, when he was peremptorily 
required to join the British standard. His resolution was 
that of the patriot. Forced to draw the sword, he drew 
it in behalf of his country. He repaired to the American 
camp, recruited his troop, and commenced a career w^hich 
was destined to be as short as it was spirited. By a 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 251 

sudden dash which he made upon the outpost of the 
enemy in the immediate neighborhood of Charlestown, he 
succeeded in making general Williamson a prisoner. 
This man was a traitor to the state, and his life was for- 
feited to the gallows. To rescue him from this probable 
fate, the British commandant in Charlestown ordered 
out his whole cavalry, which succeeded in overtaking 
the party of Ilayne, dispersed it, and rescued Wil- 
liamson. Colonel Hayne, unfortunately, fell also into 
their hands. He was carried to Charlestown and kept in 
close custody, until Rawdon, leaving Stewart at Orange- 
burg, arrived in the city. He was then brought before a 
court of inquiry. The members of the court upon this 
examination were not sworn, nor were the witnesses ; 
yet, in consequence of this examination, " Lord Rawdon 
and the commandant, lieutenant colonel Nesbitt Balfour, 
resolved upon his execution, for having been found under 
arms, and employed in raising a regiment to oppose the 
British government, though he had become a subject, and 
accepted the protectitm of that government after the re- 
duction of Charlestown." 

Such were the terms and reasons for this sentence, 
which was ordered to be carried into effect two days af- 
ter. This sudden, unlooked-for, and unjust sentence, was 
equally unexpected by the prisoner himself and by the 
citizens. It was not supposed that a mere court of inquiry 
could be resolved into one of final trial and condemnation. 
The men of the city pleaded in his behalf, the women 
petitioned in person, and implored on bended knees for 
remission of the sentence ; but Rawdon and Balfour 
were inexorable. 



252 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

The hurts of vanity, the disappointments of ambition, the 
defeat of all their plans of conquest, and the constant ad- 
vance and frequent successes of the victorious Americans, 
made them vindictive and merciless. Perhaps, too,-^ 
though this is not suffered to appear in the proceedings 
— Hayne was only a chosen sacrifice to the manes of 
major Andre. The unhappy man w^as less moved than 
his fellow citizens and friends. He saw and conversed 
with them with Christian cheerfulness, and the resolute 
bearing of the soldier. To a friend, the evening before 
his death, he declared himself to be " no more alarmed at 
the thoughts of death, than at any other occurrence which 
was necessary and unavoidable." He requested the ex- 
isting authorities to accommodate the mode of his execu- 
tion to a soldier's feelings ; but this was denied him. 
The proceedings in his case were obviously parallel to 
those of Andre. Attended by thousands of spectators, 
gloomy and sad as by an impending calamity to them- 
selves, he walked to the place of doom. His carriage 
was firm, manly and unostentatious. To his eldest son, 
a boy about thirteen years of age, on the morning of the 
fatal day, he delivered all the papers which were con- 
nected with his fate, and gave his final instructions as to 
the disposition of his remains. Ascending the fatal 
eminence of death, he parted from his friends with the 
simple assurance that he would endeavor to show them 
" how an American should die ;" and with that unshaken 
resolution which had distinguished his deportment 
throughout the painful scene, he himself gave the signal 
which hurried him into eternity. He died in a manner 
becoming the martyr to his country's freedom. His he- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 253 

roism in death, extorted from his enemies the confession 
that " if he did not die in a good cause, he must, at least, 
have acted from a pursuasion of its being so." 

The execution of such a man as colonel Hayne, under 
such circumstances, and with so little show of justice, 
was not an event to escape the consideration of the 
American general, or to pass from the memories of the 
Carolinians. Unsatisfied by the explanations that were 
offered by the British commander, Greene declared his 
purpose of retaliation on all such British officers as should 
fall into his hands, — a declaration which was induced 
by the voluntary self devotion of all the officers of the 
southern army. These brave men met together and ad- 
dressed to him a memorial, in which, after declaring 
what had reached their ears of the enormous cruelties 
practiced by the British, and of the bloody execution 
which has just been recorded, they recommend measures 
of immediate retaliation by a similar treatment of all 
British subjects ; avowing their perfect readiness to 
abide by a recommendation which, in the event of capture, 
at once placed themselves entirely without the pale of 
mercy from the enemy. " But," concludes this noble 
document ; " we had rather commit ourselves to the 
most desperate situations, than prosecute this just and 
necessary war upon terms so dishonorable." 

Fortunately for the cause of humanity, but a little time 
elapsed after this, when the policy of the war rendered 
unnecessary the adoption of such rigorous measures. 
Still, the American general wore the countenance of one 
who was inflexible in his determination. A very few days 
after the execution of Hayne, Marion's cavalry captured 

22* 



254 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

three British officers with an enemy's party; and the 
affair of the Eutaws, which will be recorded in the 
next chapter, placed in the hands of Greene, a prisoner 
sufficiently distinguished to awaken all the apprehensions 
of Balfour for his safety. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

Colonel Stewart, whom lord Rawdon had left in com- 
mand of the British army, had been watched by the 
American commander with intense anxiety. In com- 
mand of nearly three thousand troops, he was too strong 
to apprehend any assault from a force so poorly provided, 
and so feeble in most respects, as that of the Americans ; 
and, but for discontents among his men, and the great 
fatigues to which his new Irish regiments had been 
subjected before reaching him, he would have been in 
good condition to turn upon the steps of Greene. Some 
weeks elapsed before Stewart was ready for a move- 
ment of any kind, and during this time the American 
general was held in suspense as to his future objects. 
Not doubting, however, that the necessity of providing 
for his army would carry his adversary to the banks either 
of the Congaree or Santee, measures were taken for the 
removal of all the provisions upon the northern side of 
both these rivers. This proceeding necessarily increased 
the resources of the American, while diminishing those of 
the British army. 

When Stewart moved, he took pos-t amidst the hills 
near the confluence of the Wateree and Congaree. 
Here the two armies lay in sight of each other's fires ; 
but the heat of the weather precluded operations of any 
kind, and, as if by mutual consent, their swords remained 
undrawn in their scabbards for a season. The intervention 



256 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

of WO large rivers, secured them equally from sudden 
attack, and their labors were confined to the watching of 
each other, to the capturing of convoys, and the conquest 
of detachments and foraging parties. In this service, 
the Americans soon proved their superior activity. 

Greene, speaking of his cavalry in these expeditions, 
asserts them to be unexcelled by any in the world. 
Washington was detached down the country across the 
Santee, and soon made himself felt in the capture of two 
bodies of the enemy's horse. Lee, crossi^ng the Congaree 
with his cavalry, penetrated between the main body of 
the British army and the post at Orangeburg, and in sight 
of the latter place, drove in, dispersed and captured 
several of their detachments. No inequality of numbers 
seem, at this time, to have impaired their confidence in 
themselves or lessened their courage ; and such was 
their audacity, that the enemy was compelled to send out 
large detachments from his main body for the protection 
of his convoys. For every wagon load of provisions, he 
paid the price in blood. Equally active with these 
officers, were Marion, Mayhem and Harden, in covering 
the country below. The embarrassments produced by 
these united operations, the great difficulty of procuring 
provisions, and the necessity of lessening his main army 
to strengthen his posts below, in order to cover his com- 
munications between Orangeburg and Charlestown, ren- 
dered the position of the British commander particularly 
uncomfortable. 

A movement of Greene, and the concentration of most 
of the detachments of the Americans, at a general ren- 
dezvous, determined the movements of colonel Stewart. 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 257 

Falling back upon hfs re-inforcements and convoys, he 
took a post forty miles from his late position, at the 
Eutavv springs. Ha was followed by colonel Lee, who 
was pushed forward to watch his movements, while 
general Pickens, with the state militia, advanced with a 
similar object, in the neighborhood of the enemy's post 
at Orangeburg. The main army of the Americans, mean- 
while, crossed the Congaree, moving slowly down the 
south bank, toward the post at Motte's, where Greene, 
having resolved upon a discontinuance of the pursuit, 
determined to await the progress of events. 

This resolution, as it seemed to indicate a. want of 
confidence in the American commander, encouraged the 
British. Halting upon his ground at Eutaw, he prepared to 
meet and fight his enemy. Withdrawing the garrison from 
Orangeburg, (which he established at Fairlawn,)he called 
in to his aid that which had been maintained at the latter 
post as a foil to Marion. This movement he was enabled 
to make in consequence of the disappearance of the 
" swamp fox," who, in one of his secret expeditions, had 
rapidly crossed the country to Pon Pon, where colonel 
Harden was closely pressed by a British force of five 
hundred men. To pass through both lines of the British 
communication with Charlestown ; to surprise, defeat and 
disperse this force, numerically superior to his own ; to 
return by the same route, pass the Santee, put his 
prisoners in safety ; then advance upon the Eutaw, in 
order to a closer co-operation with the army under 
Greene ; — was but the work of a few days and of ordinary 
labor with this able warrior. The junction of Marion 
with Greene, preceded by a brief interval of time the 
advance of the American commander upon the foe. 



258 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

The memorable battle of Eutaw springs, was fought 
on the 8th of September, 1781. The number of the 
Americans, rank and file, was about two thousand. 
That of the British, was something more than two thou- 
sand three hundred. The day was fair, and intensely 
hot ; but the battle opened in a wood, the shade of 
which afforded some relief to the combatants. At four 
o'clock in the morning, the American army moved in four 
columns from its bivouac. The state troops of South 
Carolina, with Lee's legion, formed the advance, under 
command of colonel Henderson. The militia of South 
and North Carolina, under Marion, followed next. Then 
came the regulars under general Sumner. The rear was 
closed by Washington's cavalry, and Kirkwood's Dela- 
wares, under colonel Washington. So completely had 
the detached parties of the Americans cut off those of the 
British, that the advance of their army was unsuspected. 
The only patrol had been captured during the night ; and 
so entirely secure did Stewart esteem himself in his 
position, that an unarmed party of an hundred men, had 
been sent out to gather sweet potatoes. Two deserters 
from Greene's army, conveyed to the British commander 
the first intelligence of the approach of the Americans, 
and captain Coffin, at the head of his cavalry, was sent 
out, as well to recall the potatoe " rooting party," as to 
reconnoitre. The American advance, when encountered, 
was immediately charged by Coffin, with a confidence 
which showed his ignorance of its strength and of 
the greater force of which it was the precursor. He 
was repulsed ; the firing alarmed the potatoe diggers, 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 259 

who all fell into the hands of the Americans. In the 
mean time, Stewart pushed forward a detachment of in- 
fantry to keep the Americans employed, while he pre- 
pared for battle. But Greene, persuaded by the audacity 
of Coffin that the whole British force was at hand, 
proceeded to form where the encounter took place. The 
column of militia, when displayed, formed the first line ; 
the South Carolinians in equal divisions on the right and 
left, and the North Carolinians in the centre. Marion 
commanded the right, Pickens the left, and colonel 
Malmedy the centre. Henderson, with the state troops, 
including Sumter's brigade, covered the left of this line, 
and Lee, with his legion, the right. The column of reg- 
ulars, also, displayed in one line. The North Carolinians, 
under general Sumner, occupied the right ; the Mary- 
landers, under colonel Williams, the left ; the Virginians 
the centre, under colonel Campbell. The artillery, 
consisting of four pieces, was equally distributed with 
the two lines. Washington's cavalry, under cover of the 
woods, formed the reserve. In this order the Americans 
advanced to the battle. When the first line reached the 
advanced parties of the British, it was ordered to move on 
in order, driving them before it. In this manner, firing as 
it advanced, it went resolutely forward, while the enemy 
sunk back and found shelter in their own line. 

About two hundred rods west of the Eutaw springs, 
the British army was drawn up in a single line, extending 
from the Eutaw creek beyond the main Congaree road. 
The creek covered their right ; the left was supported by 
Coffin's cavalry, and a detachment of infantry, held in 
reserve under cover of the wood. The ground on which 



260 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

the British army was displayed, was aUogether in wood ; 
but at a small distance in their rear was a cleared field, 
extending west, south and east from the dwelling house, 
and bounded north by the creek flowing from the springs. 
This creek is a bold one, having a high bank, thickly 
bordered with brush and undergrowth. From the house 
to this bank, ran a garden enclosed with palisadoes, and 
the windows of the house, which was two stories high, 
with garret rooms, commanded the whole surrounding 
fields. The house was strongly built of brick, and surroun- 
ded with various oflices of wood ; one of which, a barn of 
some size, lay to the south east, a small distance from the 
principal building. The Americans approached from the 
west. Their great superiority in cavalry, made the 
house a point of great importance to the British com- 
mander, who gave orders to major Sheridan to occupy it 
at the first symptom of defeat, and to cover the army from 
the upper windows. On the right he had made a like 
cautious provision. Major Majoribanks was posted in the 
thickets bordering the creek, with three hundred picked 
troops, to watch the flank of the Americans, should it be 
opened at any time to attack. The British artillery was 
posted in the main road. 

The disappearance of the skirmishing parties from 
the main opposing bodies, was the signal for a desperate 
and steady conflict. The militia of the first American 
line rushed with shouts into the hottest of the enemy's 
fire, even after their artillery had been demolished. 
Their valor and unflinching perseverance amidst the 
continual falling of their comrades around them, was the 
admiration of both armies. They did not falter until it 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 261 

was impossible for human courage longer to continue a 
conflict which human wisdom could no longer approve. 
They had fired seventeen rounds before they hesitated, 
and were then succored by the North Carolinians, under 
Sumner. With the appearance of Sumner's relief, colond 
Stewart brought up the infantry of his reserve into line 
on his left, and the struggle between these fresh troops 
began with renewed fury. At length Sumner's brigade, 
after sustaining the conflict with numbers far superior to 
their own, fell back also. Elated at this result, and 
conceiving the victory to be now sure, the British rushed 
forward in pursuit, and their line became deranged in 
consequence. At this important crisis, the American 
commander issued his orders to colonel Williams, who 
remained in command of the second line, to advance and 
sweep the field with his bayonets. This order was 
promptly obeyed. The two briojades received it with a 
shout, and advanced with a degree of impatience which 
scarcely heeded the deliberate and measured guidance of 
their officers. When within forty yards of the enemy, 
the Virginians of the line delivered a destructive fire, and 
the whole body, with trailed arms, rushed forward to the 
charge, through showers of grape from the British artillery, 
and seemingly unmoved by the stream of fire that blazed 
incessantly before them. The advanced left of the 
enemy recoiled beneath the desperate resolution of this 
charge. Their disorder became visible, and was con- 
firmed by the prompt movement of colonel Lee. Wheel- 
ing the legion infantry round from its position on the 
extreme right, he poured in upon the British left a close 
enfilading fire, and their confusion became irretrievable. 

23 



262 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

The centre and right of the British army still re- 
mained much more numerous than the American, and 
awaited the threatened charge with a constancy that 
seemed unshaken. But the disorder and flight of the 
left had its effect upon the other divisions of the army ; 
and the pressure of the fugitives from the left, upon the 
centre, imparted a portion of their panic to the rest of 
their companions. The advance of the Marylanders, at 
this lucky moment, helped to increase the confusion of the 
foe. They delivered their fire with deliberation and fatal 
effect, and along their whole front the enemy yielded. 

Completely triumphant, as they now supposed them- 
selves, the Americans pressed forward to prevent the Brit- 
ish from rallying, and to cut them off from the brick house, 
to which the fugitives naturally turned their eyes. Suc- 
cessful in this, the victory would have been complete. 
The great loss which the enemy had sustained, must have 
compelled his surrender, unless he could secure this shel- 
ter, which was now his object. It was in striving to 
defeat this object, that the Americans sustained their 
greatest loss ; and the affair which so far had promised 
a glorious victory, ended in the complete disappointment 
of the conquering army, and the temporary defeat of its 
proudest hopes. 

At this stage of the battle, Majoribanks still stood firm 
in the thickets which covered him. General Greene saw 
that he must be dislodged from a position which would 
soon enable him to renew the fight with disadvantage to 
the Americans. Colonel Washington, with his cavalry, 
was dispatched on this duty ; but, on attempting a 
charge, he found that he could not penetrate the thicket 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 263 

with his horse. An attempt to gain the enemy's rear, 
brought upon him a destructive fire, which slew many of 
his men and horses, and drove the rest in confusion. He 
was succeeded by colonel Hampton ; and Kirkwood's in- 
fantry, with their bayonets, rushing at the same time to 
revenge their companions, succeeded in expelling the Brit- 
ish from this strong position. But Majoribanks retired 
slowly, still holding on to the thickets, and making for a 
new position, of nearly equal strength, behind the palisa- 
does of the garden. 

Here the British army had partly rallied, though 
nothing could well exceed the alarm in their encamp- 
ment. Every thing was given up for lost. The commis- 
saries destroyed their stores ; the numerous retainers of 
the army, mostly loyalists and deserters, who dreaded 
falling into the hands of the Americans, seizing the 
horses wherever they might be found, fled in terror, 
carrying consternation where they went, even down to 
the gates of Charlestown. Their alarm might not have 
been groundless, had it not been for the misfortunes of 
the Americans, in the losses of Washington's cavalry, and 
the rash pursuit, by the infantry, of the disordered British. 
So severely had Washington's command suffered in the 
affair with Majoribanks, that but two of his officers could 
return into the action. The colonel himself had his 
horse shot under him, and owed his life to the clemency 
of a British officer. 

By the time that Majoribanks had gained the palisadoes, 
Sheridan ha-d thrown himself into the house, and some 
of the routed companies from the British left, had made 
good their retreat into the picketed garden, from the in- 



264 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

tervals of which, they could fire with security and effect. 
The whole British line was now in full flight before the 
American bayonet Their retreat lay directly through 
their own encampment, where their tents were all stand- 
ing, and a thousand objects scattered around in grateful 
profusion, which, to the famished troops of Greene, were 
too tempting to be withstood. Fatigued and almost naked, 
panting with heat and suffering from thirst — at the same 
time believing their victory to be secure, — the pursuing 
Americans fell into acts of insubordination, to which the 
fire of the British from ihe contiguous houses eminently 
contributed. The shelter of the tents from this fire, 
became an excuse, of which these brave men did not 
scruple to avail themselves. Here the American line 
got into irretrievable confusion. Its officers, nearly 
abandoned by their soldiers, became conspicuous marks 
for the British party, who now poured their fire from the 
windows of the house. In vain did they seek to rescue 
their men from the baneful consequences which had fol- 
lowed their entrance into the encampment. They had 
dispersed without order among the tents, had fastened 
upon the intoxicating liquors, and had now become utterly 
unmanageable. 

The British officers availed themselves promptly of 
this miserable condition of things. Majoribanks and 
Coffin made simultaneous movements ; the one from his 
thicket on the left, the other from the wood on the right 
of the American line. Greene soon saw the danofcrs 
that threatened him, and issued orders to Lee, of the 
legion, to fall upon Coffin. In the absence of Lee, major 
Eggleston, with a detachment of the legion cavalry, pro- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 265 

ceeded to obey, but was repulsed by Coffin, who immedi- 
ately after hastened to charge the rear of the Americans, 
now dispersed among the tents. Here, however, he 
encountered Hampton, and, by him, was successfully 
charged and beaten in turn. A sharp fight resulted in 
Coffin's retiring from the conflict. A moment after, the 
command of Hampton was almost annihilated by a fire 
from the picketed garden, where Majoribanks had con- 
cealed himself. This skillful officer, to whom the British 
army chiefly owed its safety, having scattered the cavalry 
of Hampton, proceeded to the performance of another 
movement, which was decisive of the strife. 

The British artillery, which had been captured by the 
Americans, had been brought up and opened upon the 
brick house, where the enemy were strongly sheltered. 
Unfortunately, in the hurry of the fight, the pieces had 
been brought too near the house, and were commanded 
by its fire, which very soon killed or disabled all the ar- 
tillerists. Majoribanks, as soon as he had scattered the 
cavalry of Hampton, sallied into the field, re-captured the 
pieces, and hurried them under cover. Then, being 
re-inforced by parties from the house and garden, he 
charged the Americans scattered among the tents, and 
drove them before him. They found safety only in the 
cover of the wood where the army of Greene had rallied; 
and the British, too much crippled to venture into conflict 
beyond the shelter of the houses, slowly fell back upon 
their position. 

Thus ended the severe battle of the Eutaw, in which 
both parties claimed the honors of the victor. There is 
no difficulty in settling the question between them. The 

23* 



266 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

British were driven from the field of battle at the edge of 
the bayonet, and took refuge in a fortress. So closely 
had they been pressed, and so narrow was their escape, 
that a forward party of the Americans were only prevented 
from entering with them, by a precipitate closing of the 
doors in the face of some oT their own officers and men, 
who were taken prisoners in consequence, and interposed 
by the captors as shields for the protection of their persons 
while retreating under the mouths of the musketry which 
lined its windows. The Americans were simply repulsed 
from a fortress to which they had driven their enemy in 
fear and with great slaughter. That the Americans 
should have completed their victory by taking the house, 
is undeniable. This must have been the case, had they 
not yielded to the temptation presented to their wistful 
eyes by the unknown luxuries of a British encamp- 
ment. The spoils of the enemy proved more fatal to 
their virtue, and, in consequence, to their victory, than 
his weapons had done to their lives. The reproach of 
losing a victory within their grasp, is greater than if they 
had suffered defeat. The last may be due to fortune, to 
unequal strength, to a thousand influences beyond the 
courage, the conduct, or the skill of man. The first can 
only arise from his wilfulness, his vices, or his mis- 
conduct. 

That the Americans fought well, and conquered while 
they fought, is undeniable ; that they did not complete 
their conquest, is a reproach, painfully increased in 
its severity, by the reflection, that their failure was fol- 
lowed by an unhappy loss of valuable lives, which 
otherwise might have united in the shout of triumph with 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 267 

the survivors. Among these victims, was the gallant 
colonel Campbell, vv^ho fell a moment before the final 
charge of the Americans which drove the British from 
the field at the point of the bayonet. The shouts of 
victory revived him in his dying moments. He demanded 
the cause of the shouting, and being told that the enemy 
was in full flight and utterly routed, exclaimed, with the 
holy satisfaction of the patriot soldier, " I die contented." 
These were his last words. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

In this severe engagement, the Americans made five 
hundred prisoners ; and if farther proof were needed to 
establish their claim to victory, it was found in the 
events of the succeeding day. Colonel Stewart, leaving 
his dead unburied, and seventy of his wounded to the 
humanity of Greene, breaking the stocks of one thousand 
stand of arms, and destroying his stores, abandoned his 
position and retreated with precipitation before his ene- 
my. The Americans advanced within five miles of him, 
to Ferguson's swamp, where he made his first halt. It 
was Greene's intention to have renewed the action the 
next day ; and he dispatched Marion and Lee to watch 
the line of communication between the Eutaws and 
Fairlawn, where the British had a strong force, under 
colonel Mc Arthur, in order to prevent the junction of this 
body with the enemy's main army. The simultaneous 
movements of the two corps, enabled them to meet at mid 
distance, and to out number the American detachment. 
By this movement, their junction was secured the 
evening of the day after the battle, and their retreat im- 
mediately continued. Greene pressed the pursuit during 
the whole of one day, but without success. The escape 
of Stewart was secured for the time, and the American 
general was compelled to forego his object and yield his 
earliest attention to the prisoners and wounded in his 
hands. 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



269 



But though Stewart succeeded in escaping from his 
pursuers, the British power in South Carolina was com- 
pletely prostrated by the battle of Eutaw. He had lost 
in killed, wounded and missing, nearly one half of the 
force which he brought into action. The British regu- 
lars lost something more than this, in the failure of their 
charm of power, — their reputed invincibility. Their regu- 
lars had been foiled with their own peculiar weapon, the 
bayonet ; and, perhaps, almost entirely owed their safety 
to the sharp shooting of native Americans, by whom 
their ranks were too much filled from the beginning ; and 
who, in almost all their victories, made a numerous and 
efficient part of their armies. By a very inferior force 
had they been driven from the field, and their courage fell 
in proportion to the daily increase of confidence, in their 
own prowess, on the part of the Americans. Nothing 
seemed wanting to make the American soldiers as good 
as any in the world, but a moderate length of practice, 
and frequent exercise in actual conflict. 

The losses of Greene had also been severe in a very 
great degree. His officers, in particular, had suffered 
dreadfully, chiefly in consequence of their exposure from 
the fire of the house, in their vain attempts to rescue 
their intoxicated soldiers from the British tents. Thin 
as the American regiments had ever been, they were 
always deficient in officers. In this bloody affair, no less 
than sixty-one had been killed and wounded. Twenty- 
one of these, including colonel Campbell, had died upon 
the field of battle. The loss of British officers was also 
very severe, but less than that of their enemies. Major 
Majoribanks, who had so highly distinguished himself 



270 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



during the day, died on the march to Charlestown. The 
spot where he lies buried, is still shown upon the road- 
side. The rest of the British wounded narrowly escaped 
capture by Marion. This vigilant and ever restless cap- 
tain, understanding that they had been shipped at Fair- 
lawn for Charlestown, descended the country rapidly by 
night, and would have intercepted them, but for a slave of 
one of the plantations, who gave intelligence of his move- 
ments to the British camp. This brought out a strong 
detachment against him, and he was compelled, in turn, 
to steal away and avoid interception. 

Returning from the pursuit of Stewart, Greene re- 
crossed the Santee, and resumed his position at the Hills. 
Feeble as his army had ever been, it was now destined 
to become still more so. His militia soon left him. Of 
the North Carolinians, but one hundred remained, and 
theirtermof service was near expiring. Marion, Pickens 
and Hampton, with the South Carolina militia, were ne- 
cessarily detached to cover the country ; and with the 
continentals alone, he had to discharge all the painful 
and fatiguing services required by six hundred wounded, 
half of whom were prisoners. Exposure in the swamps, 
at a sickly season of the year, had brought upon his army 
the diseases of the climate ; and without medicine, or 
comforts of any kind, the whole camp exhibited a scene 
of the utmost misery and destitution. Numbers of brave 
fellows perished in a condition of wretchedness, only 
surpassed by such as distinguished the plague hospitals 
of the east. Ten days after the battle of Eutaw, the 
American general would have found it impossible to 
muster at head quarters, a thousand men fit for action. 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 271 

Meanwhile, intelligence reached the south that Com- 
wallis contemplated a return from Virginia to Carolina 
by land. A movement of colonel Stewart, about this 
time, seemed to confirm the truth of this intellijrence. 
That officer, having recruited his army by all the availa- 
able troops which he could gather from below, and hav- 
ing strengthened his cavalry until it became far superior 
to that of the Americans, once more advanced to the 
Eutaws. This movement served to drive the several 
American detachments of Marion and Hampton across 
the Santee ; and had the British continued their advance 
with vigor, it is not improbable, in the reduced and mis- 
erable condition of Greene's army, that they would have 
regained the ground, if not the influence, which they had 
lost in the late aftair. But it was remarked that they no 
longer acted with their ancient vigor. They had lost 
the assurance of victory, which their first successes had 
inspired, and which had made them confident. They 
now exhibited a readiness to flee, on the first show of 
danger, as much like, and as little creditable, as that 
which had distinguished and disgraced the conduct of 
the American militia, when taking their first lessons in 
warfare. 

The audacity which they had lost, seemed now to 
be the characteristic of the Americans. The detach- 
ments of the latter presented themselves before their 
strong holds, taunted them by the boldest daring, but 
failed to bring them forth. Mayhem, of Marion's brigade, 
while, at a subsequent period, the British lay at Monk's 
Corner, captured one of their posts and took eighty pris- 
oners, in the face of their whole army. 



272 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 

The advance of the British to the Eutaws, did not 
result on their part in any increase of vigor or activity. 
Its command had devolved upon a major Doyle, during 
the illness of colonel Stewart, who was suffering from a 
wound received at Eutaw. This officer took post at 
Fludd's plantation, three miles above Nelson's ferry. 
His army, recruited from the British and loyalist forces 
in Charlestown, was still more than two thousand men, 
not including a body of three hundred, stationed at Fair- 
lawn, under major McArthur. This force, so superior to 
that of Greene, gave to the enemy the undivided command 
of the country to the south of the Santee and Congaree, 
and westward to the Edisto. 

But this superiority was not of long continuance.- — 
The diligence of Greene and his officers, and the 
patriotism of the soldiers, served to sustain them in 
their position, amidst every form of privation and suffer- 
ing, and gradually to restore their strength. The army 
was recruited by colonels Shelby and Sevier, with five 
hundred men, and the infantry received an accession 
of one hundred and sixty recruits from North Caro- 
lina. The artillery destroyed in the battle of Eutaw, 
had been replaced from Virginia ; the wounded survi- 
vors had been recovered, and the cavalry, that most 
essential part of an army in a level and thinly settled 
country, was rapidly accumulating under the several 
commands of Sumter, Marion, Horry, Mayhem and 
others. In two months from the battle of Eutaw, the 
American general was in a capacity to act. Marion, 
having under him Sevier, Shelby, Horry and Mayhem, 
■with their respective divisions, was ordered to operate 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 273 

between the Santee and Charlestown. Sumter, with his 
brigade of state troops, and some companies from his 
militia brigade, was ordered to take post at Orangeburg 
and defend the country against the loyalists from the city ; 
while Pickens, with two regiments, maintained the fron- 
tier from the Indians, and covered it against the predatory 
■warfare which still raged in that quarter. 

The commands of Sumter and Marion crossed the 
rivers in the beginning of November, and advanced upon 
the enemy. The former soon fell in with a strong party 
of the loyalists under general Cunningham, who had 
advanced upon Orangeburg, and one of his officers, a 
major Morris, suffered himself to fall into an ambuscade, 
in which he sustained some loss. The forces of Sumter 
and Cunningham being nearly equal, operated as mutual 
checks upon each other. Cunnningham, who had issued 
from Charlestown on a pillaging expedition in the upper 
country, was checked in his progress ; while Sumter, to 
continue this restraint upon his enemy, and maintain 
himself in safety, fell back for the present, and secured 
himself by a careful selection of position. The progress 
of Marion was also arrested, in consequence of his 
encountering at Wantoot, the whole army of Stewart, 
who was at this time busy in ravaging the country, laying 
in provisions for sustaining a siege on Charleston, and 
accumulating that plunder with which their fleet of three 
hundred sail was laden when they subsequently took 
flight from the waters of Cooper river. 

About this time, the news was received by both armies, 
of the fall of Cornwallis in Virginia. To the British in 
Carolina, it was omnious of that fate which the unrelaxing 

24 



274 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

energies of Greene, and the determined valor of the troops 
under him, seemed resolved to hasten ; and in anticipation 
of this event, the British commander, as if no longer 
confident in his arms, was preparing to convert his 
soldiers into mere marauders. In the short period which 
followed the return of major Doyle with the British 
army to the Eutaws, he had succeeded in plundering the 
country on the Santee and Congaree, of every negro, and 
of almost every thing else in the shape of property, that 
could be carried away. But that Marion and Hampton 
guarded the opposite banks of these rivers, their ravages 
would have extended far beyond these comparatively 
narrow limits. 

The intelligence of the surrender of Yorktown, reached 
the camp of Greene about the last of October. The day 
was observed as a jubilee in camp, and the grateful 
tidings gave a new impulse to the desire of the American 
general to cross the rivers which separated him from his 
enemy, and drive him down to the sea. This object had 
now become one of infinite importance, in order that the 
elections might be held as generally throughout the state, 
as possible, for the legislature. The re-establishment of 
the civil authority was of the last importance to the 
country, as well as to the army. The former was with- 
out laws, and had been exposed to a jurisdiction as 
various and wild as the passions of the several and 
conflicting parties by whom, at successive periods, it 
had been held in possession. The latter was suffering 
from every species of want. 

" Our situation," says Greene, in a letter immediately 
after the battle of Eutaw, " is truly deplorable in the 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 275 

quarter master's and ordnance departments. We have no 
ammunition, and not half tents enough ; few camp kettles, 
and no axes, and until very lately, no canteens." 

Add to this, the want of clothes to cover their naked- 
ness, the want of salt to season their food, and the want 
of physic to heal their sick, and the patriotism of the 
American general and his troops will derive its highest 
honors from their condition. 

On the 18th of November, the camp at the Hills was 
broken up, and the American army again put in motion. 
As the route to be pursued led the army off from the 
support of Marion, who was charged with guarding its left 
while on its march, captain Eggleston, with the legion and 
a detachment from the Virginians, was dispatched to 
strengthen him. The main army took up the line of march 
on the route by Simmon's and McCord's ferries, through 
Orangeburg, to Riddlespurger's ; thence by the Indianfield 
road to Ferguson's mill, where that road crosses the Edisto 
— the intention of the American general being apparently 
to gain a position on Four Holes, for the double purpose 
of covering the country beyond him, and controlling the 
movements of the enemy on his right. Another object 
in this movement was, to intercept the flight of the 
British to Savannah, — intelligence having been received 
by Marion, from Charleston, that such was their in- 
tention. 

It was in the confident belief that the force of Marion 
was adequate to keep in check that of the enemy under 
Stewart, that Greene ventured to place himself in a 
position which left him particularly exposed to an attack 
from Charlestown. To the great astonishment of Marion, 



276 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

no less than of the commander-in-chief, the mountaineers 
under Shelby and Sevier — upon the strength of whose 
re-inforcement he had A^entured into the jfield — on a 
sudden deserted him after three weeks service. This 
desertion was, with some probability, attributed to the 
departure of their colonel, Shelby, who had obtained leave 
of absence. Something, too, has been said of the service 
not being sufficiently active for their habits ; but reasons 
such as these furnish a poor apology for soldiers, who, 
in the cause of their country's liberty, should be well 
pleased to encounter any sort of service which it may be 
the policy of their commander to impose. Marion had 
endeavored to find them sufficient employment. He had 
approached and defied the enemy, but could neither tempt 
nor provoke him to leave his encampment. With numbers 
decidedly inferior, the brave partisan was chagrined to 
find it impossible to bring his enemy into the field ; and 
the only services in which he was able to employ his 
mountaineers, were in attacks on the post at Fairlawn, 
and on the redoubts at Wappetaw. Detachments of 
about two hundred of them, supported by Mayhem's 
cavalry, were, in both instances, commanded by Shelby. 
"Wappetaw was abandoned at their approach. The 
attack at Fairlawn was made while the enemy lay at 
Wantoot. In passing this post, Marion showed himself, 
but did not succeed in decoying the British cavalry into 
the field. At Fairlawn the attack was successful. The 
place surrendered at discretion, and the whole garrison, 
with three hundred stand of arms, stores and provisions, 
fell into the hands of the Americans. The house with 
its contents, and the abbatis, were committed to the 
flames. 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 277 

The desertion of the mountaineers, who formed so 
large a portion of Marion's command, might have been of 
the most pernicious consequence to the several divisions 
of the American army, but for the alarm which the 
movement of Greene across the Congaree, had occasion- 
ed in the mind of Stewart. Greene had advanced too 
far to recede ; Marion had passed the Santee, and any 
disaster to him would have compelled an immediate 
retreat of the main army, to avoid worse consequences. 
The ignorance of the British commander of the real 
condition of his foe, and, perhaps, a consciousness of his 
own weakness— of which the Americans were equally 
ignorant at the time — by prompting his retreat towards 
Charlestown, induced Greene to undertake an enterprise 
calculated to confirm the enemy's fears of the American 
strength, and, by forcing him into Charlestown, without 
risking an action, to get the entire command of the 
state. 

With this object, he left the army on its march, under 
the command of colonel Williams ; and at the head of 
two hundred cavalry, and as many infantry, moved 
briskly towards Dorchester. The cavalry consisted of 
Lee's and Washington's, and one hundred men drawn 
from the command of Sumter, The infantry were those 
of the legion, and detachments from the lines of Maryland 
and Virginia. The command of this detachment was 
given to colonel Wade Hampton. Greene jflattered 
himself with the hope of being able to surprise the post 
at Dorchester ; but the enemy received notice of his 
approach, and lay upon their arms all night. Not 
seeing the Americans appear as soon as they expected, 

24* 



278 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

the British sent forth a party of fifty for intelligence. 
Hampton's advanced guard encountered the party, and 
but few were suffered to escape. So close was the 
pursuit of the survivors pressed, to the enemy's post, that 
the whole cavalry of the British army, which, with a 
strong detachment of infantry, had been sent to re-inforce 
that post, issued out to charge the pursuing party. To 
cut off" this corps was a leading desire with Greene, and 
he saw their approach with tho most pleasurable antici- 
pations. But they recoiled and fled from the fierce on- 
set of Hampton's horse. Twenty or thirty were slain, 
wounded or taken ; and such an alarm did the presence 
of Greene in person, excite among them, under the belief 
that his whole army was at hand, that the garrison, 
during the night, destroyed every thing, — threw their 
cannon into the river, and made a rapid retreat to Charles- 
town. Greene did not dare to pursue, for the infantry of 
the enemy alone exceeded five hundred. 

This maneuvre had all the effect which was intended. 
The panic of the enemy increased, their outposts were all 
abandoned, and their whole force concentrated at the 
quarter house, about six miles from Charlestown. Here, 
where the isthmus is narrow, the fugitives were halted 
and joined by general Stewart, who, meanwhile, had 
been hurrying with all speed, by another route, toward 
the city. 

General Leslie, who now succeeded Stewart, made 
every preparation for immediate attack. The fears of 
the fugitives from Dorchester, had magnified the force of 
Greene to something more than three thousand men, at a 
time when that brave commander could not muster at 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 279 

head quarters more than eight hundred. The force under 
Leslie was scarcely less than five thousand ; yet he 
deemed it necessary, in the general panic, to resort to a 
measure which must sufficiently have testified his own 
fears, while it awakened, to the keenest poignancy, those 
of the remaining inhabitants. He embodied in regiments 
the numerous slaves who had been drawn from the 
neighboring plantations, and who had been crowded into 
the city as a part of that plunder with which the provi- 
idence of the British commanders had prepared to con- 
sole themselves for a flight which now appeared to 
be inevitable. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

Driven in from all their outposts, the British were con- 
fined in their operations, to the city, the Neck, and the 
neighboring ishinds. The object of general Greene, and 
all that he could effect, in the thin and unprovided con- 
dition of his army, was attained ; and governor Rutledge 
convened the leoislature of the state at Jacksonborouofh, 
a little village on the Edisto river, about twenty miles 
from the sea, and thirty-five from the city of Charlestown. 

This event, which once more restored the forms of civil 
government to the state, after an interregnum of nearly 
two years, took place in January, 1782. It was origi- 
nally arranged by the governor and common council, to 
convene it at Camden ; but general Greene, after his 
excursion to Dorchester, having reconnoitered the coun- 
try between the Edisto and Ashley, and foimd it possessed 
of sufficient military advantages to admit of his covering 
Jacksonborough with his little army from danger and 
insult, warmly recommended the adoption of the latter 
place in preference to all others for the assembling of the 
delegates ; since the re-establishment of the civil au- 
thority so near the British garrison, would, more conclu- 
sively than any other event, short of the absolute expul- 
sion of the foe, confirm the evidence of a complete recov- 
ery of the state. The army, in the meantime, took post 
at the plantation of colonel Skirving, six miles below 
Jacksonborough, and on the road leading to Charlestown. 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 281 

But before the place could be put in perfect security, 
Greene conceived it necessary to drive the British from 
John's island, one of the inner chain of islands which 
stretch along the coast from Charlestov^^n to Savannah, 
separated from the main by creeks and marshes, and 
from each other by estuaries of the rivers, generally 
denominated sounds and inlets. John's and James' 
islands, with the city and the Neck, were now the only 
footholds left to the British, of all their conquests in 
South Carolina. 

On John's island, which is secure, fertile and exten- 
sive, they maintained a force of five hundred men, under 
colonel Craig. The island was also guarded at all ac- 
cessible points, by gallies carrying heavy guns. These 
gallies, at a favorable time of the tide, might easily ap- 
proach Jacksonborough, which is not beyond striking 
distance from John's island ; while the communication 
with Charlestown being open through James Island, made 
it easy for the British, unperceived, to throw re-inforce- 
ments into the former. Greene resolved to drive the 
enemy from this important position. It was soon ascer- 
tained, not only that the island was accessible, but that 
the British, unapprehensive of danger, were comparatively 
unprepared for attack. Laurens and Lee, knowing the 
desire of Greene, and having examined the approaches, 
solicited his permission to enter upon the undertaking. 
Their plan was to pass by night between the gallies, and 
surprise the force under Craig. There was one point 
between the Stono and Edisto, at which the island was 
formerly connected with the highland by a piece of hard 
marsh. To complete the inland communication between 



282 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Charlestown and Edisto, by the way of Stono, a canal had 
been cut through this marsh, and was known by the name 
of New Cut. At low water this is fordable, and to guard 
this pass, the British had moored two gallies at convenient 
distances ; but to avoid exposure to grounding, they were 
placed in positions which were necessarily somewhat 
remote ; and this circumstance suggested the project of 
passing between them. 

Greene sanctioned the plan of these enterprising 
young officers, and the night of the 1 3th of January was 
fixed on for its execution. The main army moved on 
the 12th to Wallace's bridge, with the view of diverting 
the attention of the enemy from the real point of attack ; 
while two liofht detachments, under the command of Lau- 
reus, crossing the country from Ashley river, waded the 
north branch of the Stono, and advanced to New Cut, 
which is at the head of the southern branch. The rest 
of the army was put in motion after dusk, and advanced 
to cover and support its detachment. Greene himself, 
reached the " cut" before the time of low water, at which, 
alone, the canal is fordable. Here he found his attack- 
ing party in strange embarrassment. The detachment of 
Lee and Laurens, forming separate columns on the 
march, had been led, the first by Lee, and the second by 
major Hamilton. Lee's column was in advance, and 
Laurens, as commander of the whole party, accoinpanying 
it in person. But Hamilton, through the desertion of his 
guide, lost his way to the ford, and his column was com- 
pletely lost to the enterprise. The time for striking the 
blow had passed. The first column had crossed over to 
the island, but was necessarily recalled before the height 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 283 

of the returning tide should cut off its retreat. The op- 
portunity was thus lost of cutting off, by complete sur- 
prise, a force of five hundred of the enemy. 

But the object could not be relinquished, and Greene 
ordered a boat on wagons from the Edisto, determined 
on forcing his passage to the island. The artillery 
was then brought to bear upon the gallies, and drove 
them from their stations ; while Laurena, passing the 
" cut," penetrated to the encampment of the enemy. — 
But the latter did not wait for the assault. The alarm 
occasioned by the narrow escape of the morning, convin- 
ced him of the insecurity of his position ; and taking 
counsel from his apprehensions rather than his valor, 
major Craig had already commenced his flight, in antici- 
pation of the attack. A few prisoners only rewarded 
the rapidity of Laurens' movements ; but the main object 
of Greene was attained, and without loss. This event 
completed the security of Jacksonborough, and left the 
government of the statp, assembled within its walls, free 
in the unrestrained and fearless execution of the arduous 
and solemn duties devolving upon its hands. 

The assembly met and formed a quorum on the day for 
which the members were summoned. The proclamation 
of the governor precluded all persons from suflfrage and 
membership who had placed themselves under British 
protection, or were in any manner obnoxious to popular 
odium or suspicion. None but true and tried men were 
present, and these were mostly veterans — the brave men 
who had sustained the conflict with unremitting valor and 
unfailing fortitude from the beginning. But very few were 
present who had not drawn their weapons in the strife; 
and many appeared on this occasion, clad in armor, who 



284 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

had stolen a brief respite from the labors of the field, that 
they might assist in the no less arduous toils of council. 
All had suffered, and many of them severely. A nobler 
assembly — one more distinguished for faith, integrity, 
wisdom and valor — was never yet convoked in the cause 
of a nation. The proceedings were opened by a speech 
from governor Rutledge, distinguished by the accustomed 
energy of manner and force of matter which character- 
ized that orator. In the course of this speech, he gave 
a brief glance at the history of the war in the state. A 
portion of his picture we transfer to our pages, as sum- 
ming up briefly, a thousand details which a more particu- 
lar narration would make too voluminous for our limits. 

" The enemy," said he, " unable to make any impres- 
sion upon the northern states, the number of whose 
inhabitants, and the strength of whose country, had 
baffled their repeated efforts, turned their views towards 
the southern, which a difference of circumstances afforded 
some expectation of conquering, or, at least, of greatly 
distressing. After a long resistance, the reduction of 
Charlestown was effected by the vast superiority of force 
with which it had been besieged. The loss of that gar- 
rison, as it consisted of the continental troops of Virginia 
and the Carolinas, and of a number of militia, facilitated 
the enemy's march into the country ; and their establish- 
ment of strong posts in the upper and interior parts of it, 
and the unfavorable issue of the action near Camden, 
induced them vainly to imagine that no other army could 
be collected which they might not easily defeat. The 
militia commanded by the brigadiers Marion and Sumter 
whose enterprising spirit and unremitting perseverance 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 285 

under many difficulties, are deserving of great applause, 
harassed and often defeated large parties ; but the num- 
bers of these militia were too few to contend effectually 
with the collected strength of the enemy. Regardless, 
therefore, of the sacred ties of honor, destitute of the 
feelings of humanity, and determined to extinguish, if 
possible, every spark of freedom in this country, they, 
with the insolent pride of conquerors, gave unbounded 
scope to the exercise of their tyrannical dispositions, in- 
fringed their public engagements, and violated the most 
solemn capitulations. Many of our worthiest citizens 
were, without cause, long and closely confined, some on 
board of prison ships, and others in the town and castle of 
St. Augustine ; their properties disposed of at the will 
and caprice of the enemy, and their families sent to a 
different and distant part of the continent, without the 
means of support. Many who had surrendered as pris- 
oners of war were killed in cold blood ; several suffered 
death in the most ignominious manner, and others were 
delivered up to savages, and put to tortures under which 
they expired. 

"Thus the lives, liberties, and properties of the peo- 
ple, were dependent solely on the pleasure of British 
officers, who deprived them of either, or all, on the most 
frivolous pretences. Indians, slaves, and a desperate 
banditti, of the most proffigate character, were caressed 
and employed by the enemy to execute their infamous 
purposes. Devastation and ruin marked their progress 
and that of their adherents ; nor were their violences 
restrained by the charms or influence of beauty and inno- 
cence. Even the fair sex, whom it is the duty of all, 

25 



286 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

and the pride and pleasure of the brave, to protect, they, 
and their tender offspring, were victims to the inveterate 
malice of an imrelentinof foe. Neither the tears of 
mothers, nor the cries of infants, could excite in their 
hearts pity or compassion. Not only the fearful habita- 
tions of the widow, the aged and the infirm, but the holy 
temples of the Most High, were consumed in flames 
kindled by their sacrilegious hands. They have tarnished 
the glory of the British arms, disgraced the profession of 
the British soldier, and fixed indelible stigmas of rapine, 
cruelty, perfidy and profaneness on the British name ! 

" But I can now congratulate you, and I do so most 
cordially, on the pleasing change of affairs, which, under 
the blessing of God, the wisdom, prudence, address and 
bravery of the great and gallant general Greene, and the 
intrepidity of the officers and men under his command, 
has been happily effected. His successes have been 
more rapid and complete than the most sanguine could 
have expected. The enemy, compelled to surrender or 
evacuate every post which they held in the country, 
frequently defeated and driven from place to place, are 
obliged to seek refuge under the walls of Charlestown, 
and on islands in its vicinity. We have now the full and 
absolute possession of every other part of the state, and 
the legislative, executive and judicial powers are in the 
free exercise of their respective authorities." 

The governor proceeded to recommend the embod- 
iment of a regular force of state troops, and a re-organi- 
zation of the militia. Another important matter which he 
suggested for their consideration, was the " conduct of 
such of our citizens as voluntarily avowing their alle- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 287 

giance, and even glorying in their professions of loyalty 
and attachment to his Britannic majesty, have offered 
their congratulations on the successes of his arms — 
prayed to be embodied as royal militia, accepted commis- 
sions in his service, and endeavored to subvert our con- 
stitution and establish his power in its stead ; of those 
who have returned to the state in defiance of a law by 
which such return was declared to be a capital offence, 
and have abetted the British interest ; and of such whose 
behavior has been so reprehensible that justice and 
policy forbid their free re-admission to the rights and 
privileges of citizens." 

" The extraordinary lenity of this state," continues this 
address, " has been remarkably conspicuous. Other 
states have thought it just and expedient to appropriate 
the property of British subjects to the public use ; but we 
have forborne to take even the profits of the estates of 
our most implacable enemies." 

Governor Rutledge concluded with recommending 
immediate attention to the currency, which had become 
worthless as a tender, and proposed to repeal the law by 
which it withdrew the le^al sanction to its circulation. 

The legislature proceeded to business in a spirit 
corresponding with that which the governor's speech had 
shown. Laws were passed for confiscating the property 
of certain persons, and banishing them from the state ; 
for amercing the estates of others of whose personal 
services the country had been deprived. The preamble 
to the act of confiscation, relating the reasons which 
justified the measure, declared it to be a measure of retal- 
iation for like confiscations made by the British author 



288 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

ities of the property of the patriots. But the most 
efficacious reason for the adoption of this measure, was 
the necessity of the case. The state was wholly des- 
titute of funds ; no immediate resources could be had 
either by loan or taxation, and the estates of the loyalists 
presented the only means for establishing a fund upon 
which to build a temporary credit. The indulgence of 
the state authorities, subsequently released the rigor of 
this act in the case of many of the individuals upon 
whom it bore, whose names were stricken from the 
records which chronicled their shame and forfeiture. 

The legislature, among other acts, originated a bill for 
vesting in general Greene, in consideration of his services, 
the sum of ten thousand guineas — a gift which furnished 
an example to the states of Georgia and North Carolina, 
which they promptly followed. The former voted him 
five thousand guineas, and the latter twenty-four thousand 
acres of land. 

Governor Rutledge was succeeded in the executive 
chair of South Carolina by John Matthews. The office 
was tendered first to Christopher Gadsden, who declined 
it because of his infirmities and age. The military ope- 
rations of the opposing forces seemed almost entirely 
suspended during the session of the legislature. The 
British were paralyzed, and never ventured from the 
cover of their strong hold, and the Americans were too 
feeble to attempt them there. The fall of Cornwallis, 
however, brought to Greene a small portion of the army 
which had been employed against him, under the com- 
mand of the famous general Wayne, and he was enabled 
to assume a more active character in his operations. 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 289 

He dispatched Wayne with a detachment to Georgia; 
and this general, by a series of small but sharp engage- 
ments, succeeded in circumscribing the movements of 
the British in that state to the limits of Savannah, as 
Greene, in South Carolina, had forced them within the 
walls of Charlestown. The subsequent evacuation of 
Savannah, filled the Carolinians with a lively hope that 
their chief city would also soon be rescued from the 
hands of the enemy. The British garrison at Savannah 
was added to that of Charlestown ; while Wayne, having 
completed the duties upon which he had been sent to 
Georgia, re-united his division to the main army under 
Greene. 

The successes of Greene's detachments operating on 
his left, were not so brilliant as those of Wayne. The 
brigade of Marion suffered some reverses, which were 
due only to a want of strength. The country from 
the Edisto to the Santee became thrown open in conse- 
quence, for a time, to the ravages of the enemy ; and a 
party of loyalists, under the command of William Cun- 
ningham, — familiarly known by the epithet of " Bloody 
Bill Cunningham," — escaped from the lower country 
and ascended the Saluda with a body of three hundred 
horse. 

This movement was made in concert with the Cherokee 
Indians, and demanded all the vigilance of Pickens, who 
held watch upon the borders. Rapid as was the progress 
of this marauding party, their tracks were made every 
where in blood. But the whig hunters turned out with 
spirit, and under popular leaders the tories were routed 
and dispersed. A portion of them fled to the Cherokees, 

25* 



290 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

and drew upon the savages another chastisement, such as 
had already more than once thinned their warriors, de- 
stroyed their villages, and diminished their hunting 
grounds. 

The daily extension of general Greene's troops to 
the southward and eastward, and the contraction of his 
cordon around the land limits of the British, soon began 
to be felt by general Leslie, their commander. His 
foraging ground became too small to yield a subsistence 
to the large numbers of horses which had accumulated 
within his lines, in consequence of his calling in his 
detachments, and he was reduced to the necessity, in 
order to relieve himself of this difficulty, of putting two 
hundred of these animals to death. 

An alarm excited in the American camp, on the ru- 
mored approach of the enemy with strong re-iuforcements, 
led to an order to Marion to repair to head quarters with 
all the force that he could gather. This command was 
promptly obeyed ; but a detachment of mounted infantry 
was left at Monk's Corner, to watch the motions of the en- 
emy, who, by means of Cooper river, had free access in 
their boats and gallies, to that neighborhood. To destroy 
this detachment in Marion's absence, a force of three 
hundred and fifty men were transported by water from 
Charlestown. The sudden return of Marion, with all his 
brigade, from the camp of Greene — an event quite unex- 
pected by the enemy — enabled him partly to defeat their 
enterprise. His force did not equal that which was ar- 
rayed against him, but he nevertheless resolved upon 
attacking it. In order to detain the enemy, he dispatched 
colonels Richardson and Sevier, and a part of Mayhem's 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 291 

horse, with orders to throw themselves in front of the 
British, and engage them until he should come up with 
the main body. The order was gallantly executed. — 
The British advance was charged and driven near St. 
Thomas' muster house, by captain Smith, of Mayhem's 
cavalry, and their leader, captain Campbell, with several 
others, fell in the flight. Unhappily, the pursuit was 
urged too warmly. The pursuers were met by captain 
Coffin, who, at the head of his cavalry, charged and dis- 
persed them in turn. This event left Marion too weak 
to hazard an engagement, while the enemy were very well 
content to continue their march without attempting to 
force him to it. 

The British expedition, by the timely interposition of 
Marion's force, resulted in nothing more than their cap- 
ture of a small number of cattle, with which they retired 
across Wappetaw to Haddrill's Point, where, and at 
Hobcaw, they had established posts to facilitate the 
movements of strong parties which were continually alert 
in procuring provisions, the want of which began to be 
felt in the garrison. 

The brigade of Marion had always been one of the 
most efficient in the service, at once remarkable for the 
vigilance and the valor of its officers and men. Unhap- 
pily, however, a question of precedence with respect to 
rank, arose between two of the former, both of them highly 
distinguished as leaders, and particularly esteemed by 
their commander. These were colonels Horry and 
Mayhem. During the absence of Marion, in attendance 
upon the legislature, the command was given to Horry ; 
upon which preference — a preference due to the seniority 



292 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

of the latter as an officer — Mayhem separated his corps 
from the brigade, which lay at Wambaw, posted them 
higher up the river, and then proceeded to the legislature, 
of which he was also a member. In this affair colonel 
Mayhem was unquestionably in fault. Greene and Ma- 
rion endeavored to reconcile the discontented officer, but 
without success ; and while the dispute was pending, and, 
perhaps, in consequence of the withdrawal of Mayhem^s 
horse from the command of Horry, the latter was surprised 
by a strong detachment of infantry, artillery and cavalry, 
under colonel Thomson. — afterwards more renowned 
and generally known as count Rumford — and the brigade 
dispersed. On hearing this intelligence, Marion put 
himself at the head of Mayhem's regiment, which he had 
reached but a few hours before, and hurried on towards 
Wambaw, the scene of the surprise, to cheek the enemy 
and collect the fugitives. Arrived within five miles of 
the British, he halted to refresh his men and horses, and 
while the latter were unbitted and feeding, the whole of 
the enemy's cavalry made their appearance. 

If the Americans were unprepared for the encounter — 
and it was Mayhem's opinion that a charge of the 
British, if ordered immediately on coming into view, 
would have dispersed the regiment — the enemy seemed 
as little disposed to take advantage of their surprise. 
Seeing that they not only halted, but exhibited appear- 
ances of indecision and alarm, Marion, though with a force 
only half as numerous, resolved to attack them. The 
indecision of the British had allowed the Americans full 
time to mount their horses and recover ; and they moved 
to the extremity of a lane, through which they were to 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 293 

issue, with a firm and fearless countenance. Though 
greatly fewer in number than the foe, the Americans 
were better mounted ; and frequent exercise and repeated 
successes, had inspired them with a confidence in them- 
selves which almost made them heedless of any odds. 
But they were destined, by one of those counter events 
which disturb and defeat equally the hopes and the 
calculations of men, to lose " a glorious opportunity," 
in the language of Marion, " of cutting up the British 
cavalry." 

The front section was led by an officer of approved 
courage, who, in a very recent affair, had signally dis- 
tinguished himself. It is Napoleon, however, who says 
" that every man has his moment of fear ;" and it was 
seemingly at some such unlucky moment, that the leading 
officer was required to begin the battle. He led his 
section forward, until, emerging from the cover of the 
lane at its extremity, and in the face of the foe, instead 
of charging boldly before him, he dashed aside into the 
forests on his right, and drew after him the whole regi- 
ment in irretrievable confusion. Vainly seeking to ar- 
rest their flight, Marion himself was borne away by the 
crowd, and narrowly escaped falling a victim to their 
miserable panic. Many of the fugitives had to quit 
their horses, and disembarrass themselves of their boots 
and armor, to pass a deep creek which lay in their way. 
It was fortunate that some alarm prevailed in the hostile 
ranks. The British were doubtful of their victory ; and, 
apprehensive of ambuscade, did not pursue with prompt- 
ness and resolution. They suffered some precious time 
to elapse before they moved ia pursuit ; and but few of 



294 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

the Americans were killed or taken. They were no less 
confounded at their bloodless victory, than was Marion 
mortified at a defeat so shameful. 

Marion's force thus dispersed, was, however, not an- 
nihilated. This brave partisan possessed, in a singular 
degree, the love and confidence of his countrymen, and 
the men who followed him were generally of that elastic 
temper which no reverses can subdue, and no defeat keep 
inactive. Wherever he made his appearance known, 
his recruits rapidly gathered around him ; and falling 
back upon the Pedee, he collected the scattered fragments 
of Horry's brigade, and withdrew, till better times, to the 
Santee. The triumph of the enemy was but of short 
duration. Colonel Thompson retired before a detach- 
ment from Greene's army, under colonel Laurens, and 
took post at Cainhoy, where he was too strongly posted 
to apprehend any attack in his position from the American 
detachment. 

Laurens returned beyond the Ashley, where Greene, 
from want of resources of all kinds, troops, ammunition 
and provisions, was compelled to remain comparatively 
inactive. The subsistence of the southern army, for the 
last eighteen months of the war, had been derived 
altos^ether from South Carolina. Even the detached 
army under Wayne in Georgia, was supplied with pro- 
visions from the sister state. Without regarding the 
amount of her quota. South Carolina took it upon herself 
to supply the troops ; and at the close of the war, she 
was found to be the largest creditor state in the Union. 
When it is considered how many years she had been 
the seat of active and unremitting warfare, and how long 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 295 

she had been engaged in supporting two armies, in spite 
of the interruption of her agriculture, and the devastation 
of her plains, it will rather be matter of surprise that it 
should have been done at all, than that it should not 
have been done in better manner. The greater wonder is, 
how any soldiers could be kept together under circum- 
stances such as those which prevailed in Greene's 
army. 

He writes about this time, to the president of Congress, 
" we have three hundred men without arms, and more 
than a thousand so naked for want of clothing, that they 
can only be put on duty in cases of desperate necessity. 
Men in this situation, without pay or spirits, it is difficult 
to tell what charm keeps them together. I believe that 
it is nothing but the pride of the army and the severity of 
discipline that supports them under their sufferings." 

The south has reason to be proud of such soldiers ; and 
the wonder how they should have triumphed finally over 
the wealth, the valor, and the strength of Britain, and her 
thousand mercenaries, becomes proportionably lessened 
in the contemplation of a record such as this. 

The only relief for the army in this deplorable condi- 
tion, was derived chiefly from a specific contribution, 
voluntarily yielded by the inhabitants — a source of relief, 
by the way, which, throughout the war, brought its small 
but timely aid frequently for its temporary preservation. 
In addition to this, a contraband trade was opened with 
certain merchants in Charlestown, and carried on with 
the concurrence of the governor and council, through the 
medium of an agent near the army, and under the keen 
and vigilant eyes of colonels Lee and Laurens, — by which 



296 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

in return for rice, such goods as answered the more 
pressing wants of the Americans, were furnished from 
the city. The removal of the army, upon the adjournment 
of the legislature, down to Bacon's Bridge, at the head 
of Ashley river, facilitated this trade by opening a boat 
communication with the city. The produce from these 
arrangements, though small and precarious, somewhat 
relieved the distresses of the army. To its general 
good behavior and unshaken integrity, under such heavy 
wants as it had been compelled to endure, we must 
record one sad and singular exception. 

No longer able to meet the Americans in the field, the 
British employed another agent of warfare, which they 
have, perhaps, been as little reluctant to use as other 
and far less civilized nations. This was corruption. 
The near neighborhood of the American army, within 
twenty miles of the city, suggested to the enemy a design 
of working upon its distresses, and fermenting those dis- 
contents, which they well knew must arise in every body 
of men, whose condition is such as that of the American 
army. An emissary had succeeded in tampering with the 
soldiers of the Pennsylvania line, five sergeants and 
twelve soldiers of which had been bought over to the 
purposes of the enemy. 

Had the zeal of these wretches in behalf of their new 
employers not prompted them to make an experiment on 
the fidelity of the Marylanders, the most fatal consequen- 
ces might have ensued to the whole army. But the 
sound principles of these long tried and noble fellows 
sustained them against temptation. Their integrity, the 
quick ears of one of their camp women, and the vigor and 



TtiE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 297 

vigilance of colonel Harmer, furnished the evidence for 
fastening the crime upon one Gornell, their leader. His 
arrest, and that of four other sergeants, was the signal 
for the flight of twelve of the same line, who broke away 
and escaped to the enemy on the very night on which he 
was taken. The plot had been rapidly ripening. Symp- 
toms of mutiny had appeared in the American camp, and 
the movements in that of the enemy were conclusive 
of a scheme of simultaneous operation between the foe 
and the insurgents. The American commander acted 
with decision. His outposts were soon moved to head 
quarters, Marion recalled from the Santee, and the army 
held in constant readiness for battle. Gornell, the ring- 
leader of the mutineers, was tried and condemned ; and 
with his execution, and the close confinement of his four 
confederates, every appearance of mutinous temper ceased 
in the encampment. 

With this attempt terminated all serious efforts of the 
British against the main body of the southern army. The 
day of their power was rapidly passing away ; and the 
resolution of the British parliament, to withdraw their 
forces from America, and put an end to a war in which 
they had lost an empire, and incurred, with the shame of 
such a loss, the worse reproach of having in the progress 
of the warfare lost their reputation for justice, magna- 
nimity, and the noblest qualities of a civilized and chris- 
tian people, — prepared the way for the evacuation of 
Charlestown. 

When the vote of the British parliament for discontin- 
uing aggressive war in America, was communicated to 
general Leslie, he proposed to general Greene a cessation 

26 



298 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

of hostilities, — and that he should be permitted to receive 
and purchase from the planters such supplies as he 
might need or desire. 

Greene referred the first proposition to congress ; to 
the second he gave a flat refusal, declaring his resolution 
to prevent all supplies from going into Charleston, except 
so far as his contracts for clothing made it necessary. 
To this refusal, Leslie replied by a threat of taking his 
provisions by force, and commenced his operations for 
that purpose. Greene, accordingly, prepared to oppose 
him. Marion was ordered to strengthen himself, so as to 
meet the enemy in the quarter where he commanded; 
while a strong detachment was formed, under general 
Gist, to cover the country lying south and west of the 
position of the army. Gist's brigade comprised the 
cavalry of the legion, and that of the third and fourth 
Virginia regiments, under colonel Baylor ; the infantry 
of the legion ; the dismounted dragoons of the third 
regiment ; the Delawares, and one hundred men from the 
line, under major Beale. The whole of the infantry was 
placed under command of colonel Laurens. Thus pre- 
pared for all events, Greene flattered himself that he should 
be able to neutralize the efforts of Leslie, and laugh at 
his threatenings. Some glimpses at this time, of a gentler 
influence than that of war, began to prevail in the Amer- 
ican camp. 

The arrival of general Greene's wife, who joined her 
husband on the 28th of March, contributed to enliven the 
monotony of an army in a state of inactivity. The 
presence of the Americans in force, necessarily brought 
back the planters and their families, who dwelt in the 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 299 

neighborhood. These were wealthy and hospitable, and 
the gratitude which they felt for their deliverers, delighted 
to show itself in the generous forms of convivial enter- 
tainment. A gallant passage from Johnson's narrative of 
the events of this period, may fitly conclude this chapter. 
" In modern ages and nations," — he might have said, 
in all ages and most nations — " the transition from war 
to love has ever been direct and uniform. The army 
abounded in gallant young officers, and the country in 
wealthy, elegant and accomplished women. The laurels 
of the former were readily laid down at the feet of the 
latter, and received with approving smiles. Those who 
had re-conquered the country, were liberally admitted to 
a participation in its wealth and treasures ; the feudal 
service exacted was a willing submission to that power 
which conquers all. Many were the matrimonial con- 
nections to which this period gave rise, between the 
the officers of the army and the heiresses of Carolina and 
Georgia ; and it is needless to add, that they yielded a 
valuable acquisition, both to the population and the 
society of the country." 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

The military events of this period were rapidly draw- 
ing to a close. They involved no affairs of leading 
importance. Early in April, Marion re-crossed the San- 
tee river, with a small force of two hundred militia and 
Mayhem's horse, reduced to one hundred and twenty. 
It was general Greene's wish that he should take post as 
near as possible to the enemy, in order to straighten 
his limits beyond Cooper river, and to enable colonel 
Laurens to pass the Ashley, and close upon the enemy 
between the latter river and Goose Creek. But not 
being able to mount his infantry, it became necessary to 
take post on the Santee, at a point which would enable 
him to effect the double purpose of securing a retreat, 
and forming a junction with any party when necessary, 
either at Huger's bridge, over the west branch of Cooper 
river, from which he was twenty miles distant, or at 
Strawberry ferry, which was twenty-five from his posi- 
tion. His cavalry, meanwhile, patrolled the country 
within view of the enemy's posts at Haddrell and 
Hobcaw, to check the incursions of the British in that 
quarter, and obtain the earliest intelligence of their move- 
ments. 

To relieve himself once more from a neighbor who 
had always proved so troublesome, general Leslie 
prevailed upon a Scotchman, under the feigned character 
of a deserter, to penetrate the country into the settlements 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 301 

of the Scots loyalists, and persuade them to make such 
movements as would recall Marion to that quarter. The 
unfortunate agent, on his return from this duty, was inter- 
cepted and executed by Marion, But he had done his 
work ; the loyalists were excited, and under major 
Gainey, of Pedee, a tory leader of considerable local 
celebrity, appeared in arms. 

Taking command of Mayhem's cavalry, Marion pro- 
ceeded to meet Gainey, who was an old and well known 
opponent ; and one, like himself, who had a high repu- 
tation for his adroitness as a partisan warrior. Colonel 
Mayhem was too sick to accompany his command, and 
was left at his own place, attended by a small guard. 
Here he was captured by a daring young loyalist, named 
Robbins, who had made a circuit and penetrated nearly 
sixty miles into the country with this object. Robbins 
was one of Cunningham's men, and Mayhem, from the 
known hostility of the loyalists to him, expected nothing 
but death at his hands. But Robbins, not having his su- 
perior with him, exhibited the natural generosity of a 
brave man, and parolled the sick captive to his own 
house. 

The rapid progress of Marion, and his sudden ap- 
pearance before Gainey, convinced the latter that his 
movement was not likely to be attended by any favorable 
results ; and the willingness of Marion to spare the un- 
necessary shedding of blood, facilitated a pacification 
between the parties, and led to the renewal of a treaty of 
neutrality, to which Gainey had bound himself the year 
before. To this treaty, Marion added a clause, permit- 
ting such of the loyalists as wished it, to retire with their 

26* 



302 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 

property from the country. These terms the tories 
were very ready to accept. They saw that they were 
about to be abandoned by the British, and yielded with 
the best grace to the necessity that pressed upon them. 

This insurrection had scarcely been quelled before the 
partisan was summoned back to his former position. 
His absence had left ihe British at liberty to renew their 
depredations between Cooper and Santee rivers ; and his 
infantry, under colonel Ashbv, had been compelled to 
retire before a superior foe. He was joined on his route 
by a newly raised corps, under major Conyers, and but 
for this timely aid, must have reached his position alone, 
for the rapidity of his movements had broken down the 
corps of Mayhem, which he left behind him to recruit. 

At Murray's ferry he halted to collect his militia and await 
the arrival of his weary cavalry. Here he consolidated 
the two commands of Mayhem and Conyers, and about 
the middle of July, re-crossed the Santee, at the head of 
a respectable body of horse and about three hundred dis- 
mounted infantry. With these he took post on the Wassam- 
asaw, but had scarcely done so, before he was compelled, 
by the movements of general Leslie, to move immediately 
to Georgetown, against which place it was apprehended 
that a numerous fleet of small vessels, convoyed by gal- 
lies and armed brigs, and conveying eight hundred men, 
which issued late in July from Charlestown, was intended 
to operate. To this place he hurried with his usual 
speed and spirit ; but the enterprise of the en emy was di- 
rected to another point, and he succeeded in sweeping 
from the banks of the Santee more than six hundred bar- 
rels of rice. Again was the force of Mar. on set in mo- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 303 

tion and thrown over the Sampit, to prevent the advance 
of the British upon Georgetown. In this he succeeded ; 
but it was utterly impossible to annoy them in their 
movements up the South Santee, and upon those plantations 
which they could plunder in safety, under the guns of 
their gallies. 

At their departure he once more returned across the 
Santee, and took post at Watboo, as the return of the 
enemy's fleet to Charlestown suggested the probability of 
their attempting some similar enterprise upon another of 
the rivers communicating with that city. Here a party 
of his infantry drew upon themselves the attention of the 
British. They believed the infantry to be isolated. 
Knowing their cavalry to be with Marion, and ignorant 
of the rapidity of his return, they supposed him to be 
still at Georgetown. Major Frazier, at the head of 
above one hundred British dragoons, advanced to surprise 
this party. It was not without some uneasiness that 
Marion prepared to receive the enemy. The greater 
part of his force, at this time, consisted of what were 
termed, in the language of that day, new made whigs. 
They were men originally tories, who, in consequence 
of a judicious proclamation of governor Rutledge, which 
ofiered pardon to all who would join the American forces 
within a limited time, had deserted from the British. 

But his uneasiness was misplaced. There could not 
have been a description of men more deeply interested 
in securing themselves against the British sabres. Not 
one of them, if taken, would have escaped military 
execution. Instead, therefore, of surprisingthe Americans, 
Frazier found them drawn out and ready to receive him. 



504 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

His charge was met with firm nerves aTid the keenest 
aim. A single fire terminated the action ; and it is seldom 
that a single fire has done equal execution on a like 
number of men. One officer, eight men and five horses 
were killed ; three officers, eight men and a number of 
horses wounded and taken. The Americans sustained 
no loss in men, but a very severe loss in ammunition. 
The driver of the wagon which contained it, or his horse, 
took fright durin^ the engasrement, and made off in a 
direction which revealed its flight to the enemy, by a 
small detachment of whom it was captured. Unhappily, 
Marion was destitute of his cavalry, who were then 
patrolling the country below, and cavalry alone could 
have retrieved his loss. Five of his men, armed with the 
broad swords of the slain British, and mounted on as many 
captured horses, resolved upon the effort. They suc- 
ceeded ; but the prize was again wrested from their hands 
before they could reach the infantry, by the return of 
the enemy in force. 

" It was certainly," remarks the historian, " the dis- 
tinguishing attribute of Marion, always to extract good 
service from the militia. They thought themselves 
invincible under him ; and in the present instance, he 
declares that not a man faltered ; that he even had to 
check their anxiety to move out into the open field and 
receive the charge of the cavalry. But Marion's coolness 
never deserted him ; in the absence of his cavalry, a defeat 
would have been converted into a route, and both corps 
would have been sacrificed in detail." 

Had his cavalry been present, the assailants must 
have been utterly cut to pieces. In an hour and a half 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 305 

after they had moved off, major Conyers arrived with his 
horse and went instantly in pursuit. But major Frazier 
had by this time formed a junction with a detachment 
of infantry which had advanced to his support ; and 
without ammunition, Marion was forced to retire once 
more toward the Santee. Greene, with half his army 
on the sick list, could give him no succor. Gist was 
employed upon the Combahee, in protecting that river 
from the foraging parties of the enemy ; and partial, 
indeed, would have been the securities of the American 
army, were it not that the troops of the British in 
Charlestown, and the vicinity, were in not much better 
condition. 

But events were approaching — brought about by the 
steady adherence of the Americans to their resolution of 
independence, in spite of privation, danger and every 
form of suffering — which were at length calculated to give 
them relief from present evils, and a triumphant solace 
for all the past. Early in September, Sir Samuel Hood 
arrived, with a convoying fleet, to cover the evacuation 
of the British from Charlestown. Major Frazier was 
recalled to the city, and Marion resumed his station at 
Watboo. The light brigade, under general Gist, took a 
position, soon after it was formed, in advance of the army 
near the Stono. Colonel Laurens, who had been charged 
with conducting the intercourse with the corps of intelli- 
gence in Charleston, had a guard assigned him, and placed 
himself without the pickets of the brigade and near to 
Wappoo Creek. 

When general Gist was ordered to the southward, to 
protect the country on the Combahee from the foraging 



306 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

fleet of the enemy, general Greene did not think it ad- 
visable to withdraw Laurens from a post so highly 
confidential and important ; and, accordingly, issued no 
orders to the latter to join his brigade. But the ardor of 
Ijaurens was not to be restrained when the prospect was 
open for active operations against the foe. When made 
acquainted with the orders of Gist, " to strike at the 
enemy wherever he might meet them," he resolved to 
share in the enterprise ; and, nsing from a sick bed, he 
hurried after the brigade, which he overtook on the 
north bank of Combahee river near the ferry. Colonel 
Laurens solicited from his commander an opportunity for 
immediate enterprise ; and, fatally fortunate in his appli- 
cation, he obtained his wish. 

The enemy had landed from their boats on the opposite 
side of the river, and the cavalry, under major Call, had 
been ordered round by Salkehitchie bridge, to join the 
militia who had collected in that quarter. Twelve miles 
below the ferry, on the north side of the Combahee, the 
extreme end of Chehaw neck approaches the bed of the 
river, which generally, between these points, is bordered 
by extensive swamps and rice fields. At this point, 
general Gist had ordered a work to be thrown up, for the 
purpose of annoying the enemy in their retreat, and the 
command of this post was conferred on Laurens. With 
fifty infantry, some matrosses and a howitzer, he moved 
down the river on the evening of the 26th of August, near 
enough to take post at Chehaw point by the dawn of the fol- 
lowing day. At the place of Mrs. Stock he spent the night, 
in the enjoyment of company, and in the utterance of feel- 
ings and sentiments which heighten the melancholy inter- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 307 

est of the fatal event which closed his adventure. The 
warm hospitality of the lady of the mansion, and the bland- 
ishments of female society, beguiled the time, and the 
company did not separate until two hours before the hour 
when the detachment was set in motion. The expected 
conflict was the subject of conversation, and the appre- 
hensions of the ladies were soothed by the pleasant 
indifference with which he spoke of the event. 

At three o'clock he commenced his march, mounted, 
and at the head of his detachment, altogether unsuspicious 
of danger, when the enemy was discovered. They had 
probably received some intelligence of the march of the 
detachment; and, landing on the north bank of the river, 
and pushing into the road that communicates with the 
point, they had formed an ambuscade in a place covered 
with fennel and high grass, and were completely con- 
cealed from sight, until they rose to deliver their fire 
upon the unsuspecting Americans. With the discovery 
of the British, the decision of Laurens was promptly 
taken. He saw that his only alternative against a 
shameful surrender, or a more dangerous if not more 
shameful retreat, was an energetic charge. This he 
instantly ordered, and with characteristic courage led the 
way. He fell at the first fire ; so did captain Smith of the 
ariillery, and the men were thrown into confusion and fled. 
The howitzer fell into the enemy's hands, who pursued 
the flying infantry about a quarter of a mile, when they 
were met by general Gist. The pursuers fell back and 
drew up under cover of a wood near the edge of the 
river. An attempt to dislodge them before the infantry 
came up, failed, and was attended with some loss. 



308 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Their front was covered by logs and brush, so as to be 
inaccessible to cavalry, and in infantry they were supe- 
rior to Gist's command. The loss of the British on this 
occasion is unknown. That of the Americans was very 
serious for so small a force ; and in the death of Laurens 
the army lamented a tried and gallant soldier ; the country 
an unshrinking, unsleeping patriot. Greene, in a letter, 
speaks of him in this language : " Poor Laurens has 
fallen in a paltry little skirmish. You knew his temper, 
and I predicted his fate. The love of military glory 
made him seek it upon occasions unworthy his rank. 
The state will feel his loss." His body was deposited 
in the earth at the plantation of Mrs Stock, " where," 
says the biographer of Greene, " a small enclosure of 
the simplest structure, seems to excite, not answer, 
the inquiry, ' What undistinguished stranger lies buried 
here?'" 

From the Combahee river the British passed into the 
Broad, successively ascending the streams which com- 
municate with that river, and carrying off all the provis- 
ion and live stock which they could collect. From 
thence they put into Port Royal, and laid the islands 
of Beaufort and St. Helena under contribution. It was 
in vain that Greene, with the feeble army which he com- 
manded, sought to cover and protect these places. A 
country of vast extent, intersected with streams and 
marshes, easy of entrance, and quite as easy of egress, 
was liable to insult at a thousand quarters, to which the 
guardian eye could not extend, nor the guardian wing 
give shelter. Still, the attempt was every where made, 
with a promptness and energy which only needed corres- 
ponding resources to have been every where successful. 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 309 

General Gist pursued the British with all diligence to 
Port Royal ferry, where he found two of their gallies. 
Having opened a field piece upon them, he soon compelled 
them to slip their cables and attempt to make off. In this 
attempt one of them, the Balfour, of two double nines, 
ran aground, and was abandoned by her crew. They 
spiked her guns and scuttled her before their departure,; 
but their work was performed with too much hurry to be 
effectual. She was easily repaired, and under the com- 
mand of lieutenant Adams, with a picked crew of twenty- 
five men, did excellent service afterwards in defending 
these waters from the picaroons which at that time infested 
them. 

Gist rejoined the main army after the expulsion of the 
British from Beaufort, and his brigade, from this period 
to the close of the war, remained inactive ; and the same 
may almost be said of the entire army, with very few 
and unimportant exceptions. The British had retired 
under the guns of their redoubts, and no longer sought 
occasions for conflict. Their operations were confined 
chiefly to the collection of cattle and provisions for their 
contemplated voyage. The Americans traversed the 
Neck in the face of their fortifications, and Kosciusko, 
the famous Polish exile, who had succeeded to colonel 
Laurens in the command of the advanced light troops 
before the enemy's lines, still farther abated their desire 
for adventure by the audacity of his frequent approaches. 

The last blood shed in the American war was that of 
captain Wilmot, of the Americans, who, with a small 
command, continued to cover John's island, and watch 
the passage by the Stono. Impatience of inactivity and 

27 



310 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

a love of adventure, led him frequently to cross the river 
and harass the enemy's parties on John's island. In 
one of these excursions, undertaken in conjunction with 
Kosciusko, against a party of the British woodcutters, he 
fell into an ambuscade and was killed. 

Meanwhile, general Leslie was pressing his prepara- 
tions for the final evacuation of Charlestown. Greatly 
constrained and distressed in that limited position by the 
cordon, which, in spite of all his weakness, the American 
general had contrived to maintain around his foe, Leslie 
adopted a series of providential measures which some- 
what lightened his embarrassments. He relieved him- 
self of great numbers of unnecessary consumers in the 
garrison, by suffering the loyalists to leave his camp and 
make their peace with their countrymen — a privilege 
of which hundreds readily availed themselves. Another 
measure, of equally good policy, was his expulsion from 
the city of all those who were alledged to favor the Amer- 
ican cause. This measure Avas ingeniously calculated 
to furnish a pretext to many, who, having neglected to 
avail themselves of the benefits of the governor's proc- 
lamation, were necessarily dependent only on the mercy 
of the country. The harsh command of expulsion from 
the British camp, seemed to give them some claim to the 
indulgence of their countrymen. 

Having levelled the walls of the town, and of Fort 
Johnson, the British commander opened a communication 
with general Greene, apprising him of the intended evac- 
uation, and proposing terms in order that his departure 
might be a peaceable one. An arrangement accordingly 
followed, by which the Americans were to take pos- 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 311 

session, as the enemy's rear guard retired ; the former 
pledging themselves to forbear all hostile attempts upon 
the movements of the British, on condition that they 
should do no injury to the city. On Saturday, the 14th 
of December, 1782, this event took place. The morning 
gun was the signal for the British rear guard to abandon 
their adv^anced redoubts. General Wayne, at the head 
of three hundred infantry, the cavalry of the legion, a 
detachment of artillery with two six pounders, having 
been detached from the American army, had crossed 
Ashley river the night before, and was stationed in read- 
iness to follow the enemy's movements. At the sound 
of the morning gun the two parties were put in motion, 
at an assigned distance asunder of two hundred yards. 
They moved down the King street road, till they had 
passed the lines, when the British filed off to Gadsden's 
wharf, where they embarked in boats which awaited 
them. 

" It was a grand and pleasing sight," says general 
Moultrie in his memoirs, " to see the enemy's fleet, up- 
wards of three hundred sail, lying at anchor from Fort 
Johnson to Five Fathom Hole, in a curve line, as the 
current runs ; and what made it more agreeable, they 
were ready to depart." 

The reluctance of the one party to leave, and the 
impatience of the other to succeed them in the posses- 
sion of the city, led the British, now and then, during 
the march, to cry aloud to general Wayne that he was 
pressing too rapidly upon them. On such occasions the 
halt imposed upon the Americans was a short trial of 
their patience. Well might the Carolinians be impatient 



312 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

to behold those dear homes from which they had been so 
long exiled. Wayne moved forward, and halted on the 
south side of Broad street, nearly opposite to Church. In 
the rear of the American advance, came the governor of 
the state, attended by general Greene and escorted by two 
hundred cavalry. His council, and long troops of officers 
and citizens, followed on horseback. Smiling faces and 
joyful voices saluted the deliverers as they came. The 
balconies and windows were crowded with the aged men, 
the women and the children, who, for nearly three years, 
had wept with apprehension and sorrow the absence 
and the loss of dear sons, affectionate brothers and warm 
friends. Their tears now were those only of joy and of 
triumph. " God bless you, gentlemen ; God bless you, 
and welcome, welcome home." 

Such were the sweet words which hailed the longf 
banished citizens, and the long suffering soldiery of 
Greene. In tears, in silence, and on bended knees, the 
full hearts of the rescued citizens found utterance that 
blessed day. The state was at last free from the defiling 
presence of the invader, never, we trust, to suffer again 
from his painful scourge and humiliating arrogance and 
footstep ! 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

The day after the restoration of Charlestown to the 
American authorities, the British fleet put to sea. If the 
joy of the Carolinians was great in once more resuming 
possession of their metropolis, the sorrows of the 
British on leaving it were comparatively greater. It had 
been for more than two years the scene in which they 
had played their several parts of power without restraint. 
Every passion of the tyrant had they shown in turn ; 
haughty scorn, contemptuous hate, reckless lust, and 
groping and grinding avarice. They had trampled upon 
its sensiblities, shed its best blood in wantonness, and 
gleaned it of its treasures. The last lingering hour of their 
stay was distinguished by the ravages of a spirit still as 
greedy of gain as they had shown at their first coming. 
Thousands of slaves, stolen from the plantations, swelled 
the flying train of the British oflicers. For these the 
spoilers ultimately found a profitable market in the West 
Indies. The share of lieutenant colonel Moncriefi", alone, 
is stated to have been no less than eight hundred neo-roes. 

But this last robbery of the invaders sinks into insig- 
nificance, when compared with their frequent plunder of the 
same species of property during the first year of their 
conquest. It has been computed that South Carolina, 
alone, lost by these robberies no less than twenty-five 
thousand negroes. The losses of Georgia and North 
Carolina were proportionately great. 

27* 



314 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

The reluctance of the invaders to leave the metropolis 
of Carolina, showed itself even more conclusively in the 
number of deserters whom they left behind them. Hun- 
dreds emerged from cellars, chimneys and other hiding 
places, as soon as the certain absence of their army 
made it safe to do so. Scarcely a Hessian went back 
but under compulsion ; and thousands prepared to en- 
counter every danger of ill treatment from a people 
whom they had wronged, rather than return to a stand- 
ard to which they had been sold by their mercenary 
sovereigns. Among the deserters, the Irish were partic- 
ularly numerous. Their desertions were so frequent, long 
before the war had been brought to an issue, that their 
officers ceased entirely to confide in them ; and it is not 
improbable that the inactivity of general Stew^art when 
at Orangeburg, and the subsequent imbecility which 
seemed to mark the proceedings of the commander 
while in garrison, arose, rather from doubts of the fidelity 
of the troops, than from their sickness or any other of 
the alledged causes. 

The treaty of peace between the respective commis- 
sioners of America and Great Britain, very happily soon 
followed the evacuation, and relieved the country from 
other evils, scarcely less serious than those which came 
with a state of actual warfare. The southern army, 
thrown for its support entirely upon South Carolina, soon 
exhausted the few remaining resources of the province, 
and the patience of the people. The state became indig- 
nant at this charge, when it was known how much it had 
already contributed, and how much more than any of its 
sisters it had suffered for three tedious years. 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 315 

The army, seemingly abandoned by congress, and 
having orot from South Carolina all that she was able to 
give, proceeded to collect its food at the point of the bay- 
onet. The state authorities became alarmed and angry ; 
and their resolution to prevent the exercise of any 
farther purveyance, increased the rage and suffering of 
the starving soldiery. General Gist, who was in com- 
mand at James' island, could no longer restrain his men. 
The cavalry at the Eutaw broke out into actual mutiny, 
and were brought back to their duty only by the eloquent 
entreaties and reproaches of their commander. To such 
a height did the discontents arise, that general Greene, 
on one occasion, was compelled to select and draw out in 
order of battle, from the sound parts of his army, a suf- 
ficient force to keep the rest in subjection. The tidings of 
peace, as they led to the disbanding of the army, relieved 
the fears of the country, and in some degree, the sufferings 
of the soldier. He could now return to those homes and 
happy anticipations, from which the calls of his country 
had so long withdrawn him. He had reason to rejoice in 
the beams of peace, though it is feared that thousands who 
survived the strife, received but a small share of the bless- 
ings for which they strove in war. A tardy justice on 
the part of the nation, has sought to compensate them for 
their wounds and sufferings ; but the consciousness of 
their desert has been, perhaps, their greatest and best 
reward. 

Provisional articles of peace were signed at Pari-s, on 
the 13th of November, 1782, by which the king of Great 
Britain acknowledged " the United States of New Hamp- 
shire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New 



316 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, 
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, 
to be free, sovereign and independent states; that he 
treated with them as such ; and, for himself, his heirs 
and successors, relinquished all claims to the govern-^ 
ment, proprietary and territorial rights of the same." 

The termination of the revolutionary war, resulting as 
it did in the unrestrained and individual sovereignty 
of the several states engaged in it, left South Carolina 
free to the adoption of her own plans of government, her 
laws and domestic policy. Her people, with that elastic 
temper which had distinguished them from the beginning, 
soon set themselves to work to repair the disasters occa- 
sioned by the long and painful conflict which has been 
just recorded, and to remedy those defects in their social 
and political condition which it developed. In this 
object, it was fortunate for the country that the moderation 
with which the republicans regarded and treated the 
loyalists, led to the hearty co-operation, in all leading 
respects, of these lately hostile parties. The greater 
part of the exiled tories were permitted to return, by 
legislative enactment, and, under some temporary disabil- 
ities and small fines, were restored to citizenship. Though 
laboring under an immense debt, the state generously 
restored to the late owners, half a million of pounds sterling 
of confiscated property in its actual possession. 

The history of that common bond of union, by which 
South Carolina became one of a community of states, 
must be looked for in another volume. To new-model 
the constitution of the state in conformity with that of the 
United States, a convention of her people was called in 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 317 

1790, The constitution then adopted recognized the 
following elements : That all power comes from the 
people, and is to be exercised for their benefit ; that they 
are bound by no laws but such as are sanctioned by their 
representatives ; that all are equally subject to the laws ; 
that no freeman can be taken, or imprisoned, or deprived 
of his property, or exiled, or in any manner destroyed or 
deprived of life, liberty, privilege or possessions, but by 
the judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land. It 
also guaranteed freedom of conscience in matters of faith 
and religion. 

These principles of liberty and equality which pervade 
the constitution, are impressed upon the laws of the state, 
which were made in compliance with them. Under 
these laws the people have prospered, and have been 
blessed with great increase for the last fifty years. A 
mild and indulgent government, with small taxation ; a 
fruitful country, and the production of commodities which 
form the staples of consumption for millions, and the use 
of which is rapidly increasing ; encourage the citizen in 
his labor and reward him for it. But few interruptions 
have occurred in the progress of the state to prosperity. 
Religion and education have kept corresponding pace 
with the progress of agriculture among the people. Pub- 
lic works of great value and cost, in every section of the 
country, mark the watchful care of an intelligent legis- 
lature. 

The numbers of the people of South Carolina, which, 
in 1765, were but one hundred and twenty-three thousand, 
of all descriptions, are now, in 1839, little less than six 
hundred thousand ; and this increase has been constant 



318 THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

and progressive, though thousands of her sons have col- 
onized the rich fields of Alabama, Mississippi, and the 
fertile regions beyond. Nor is the prosperity of South 
Carolina marked only by affluence in wealth and increase 
of numbers at home. Her sons have always held a 
leading rank in the estimation of the Union. Their 
counsels have been no less acknowledged for than 
distinguished by wisdom. Their character has been 
unexceptionable and blameless. Spotless in integrity, 
they have not been wanting in that honorable ambition 
which seeks the high places of responsibility; and in 
stations of the highest trust they have shown themselves 
equally adequate to their tasks, and worthy of their honors. 
Her jewels, indeed, have been always as brilliant as they 
were numerous ; and though one of the smallest states, in 
a territorial point of view, in the Union, her moral weight 
has ever given her a distinguished attitude in the councils 
and performances of the whole country. Her chronicle of 
great names is unusually copious. Her Pinckneys, Rut- 
ledges and Gadsdens, as educated men, no less than 
statesmen and patriots, were always in the first rank ; 
and the long list which follows, and which should be 
fixed firmly in the memory of her sons, is of itself a 
column of glory to her name which shall forever preserve 
it, amidst all the vicissitudes of power, and in defiance 
of all the devastating effects of time. Moultrie and Ma- 
rion, Sumter, Laurens and Pickens, were all remarkable 
men ; and, more recently, the names of other renowned 
and mighty men furnish a record as glorious, which 
fully proves that the example of the past has not been 
chronicled in vain. 



THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



319 



One lesson, in chief, may be gleaned, among many 
others, from this imperfect story of the past. It is that 
which teaches the citizen to cling to the soil of his birth in 
the day of its difficulty, with the resolution of the son who 
stands above the grave of a mother and protects it from 
violation. This will be a safe rule for the citizen, what- 
ever may be the cause of war or the character of the 
invader. Opinion hourly fluctuates and changes ; public 
policy is, of all things, the most uncertain and capricious; 
and the pretexts of ambition suggest a thousand subtle 
combinations of thought and doctrine, upon which the 
human mind would depend with doubt and difficulty. 
But the resolves of a decided majority, in all questions of 
public expediency or policy, assumed as the voice of the 
soil, would be the course equally of patriotism and safety. 
This rule, preserved in memory and maintained as a 
principle, would unite a people and make them invincible. 
The thunders and the threatenings of the foe would die 
away, unharming, in the distance. Unanimity among our 
citizens will always give them unconquerable strength, 
and invasion will never again set hostile foot on the shores 
of our country. 




APPENDIX, 



Comprising a Chronicle of the Leading Events in 
THE History of South Carolina, from the close 
of the Revolutionary War to the present year. 
(1840.) 

AD. 1782. John Rutledge governor. General Assembly con- 
vened at Jacksonboro in January. Christopher Gadsden is chosen 
governor; he declines office on the plea of age. John Matthews is 
chosen. Assembly proceeds to supply vacancies in the diffisrent de- 
partments of office, and to re-estabhshall the branches of civil govern- 
ment. The governor empowered, as in the case of his predecessor, to 
do " all matters and things which are judged expedient and necessary 
to secure the liberty, safety and happiness of the state." Laws 
passed for the confiscation of estates of tories, and banishing from 
the country such as are active and decided friends of the British ; 
also for amercing the estates of others, in lieu of their personal 
services, which had been withheld from the country. Two hundred 
and thirty-seven persons, or estates, included in the first, and forty- 
eight in the last of these clauses. These enactments afterwards 
modified or repealed (see preceding history to the close of the 
war) by the evacuation of Charlestown. Partial collision between 
the state authorities and the army under Greene. See Johnson's 
life of that general. 

1783-.5. Benjamin Guerard governor. Charlestown incorpora- 
ted and called Charleston. Statesburg founded by general Sumter. 
Cotton culture begun on a small scale. 

1785-7. Wilham Moultrie governor. The Methodists first make 
their appearance, as a rehgious fraternity, in Carohna. The town 
of Columbia ordered to be laid out and made the seat of govern- 
ment, March 2nd. 

28 



322 



APPENDIX. 



1787-9. Thomas Pinckney governor. Instalment law passed; 
the last attempt in South Carolina to interfere between creditor and 
debtor. Last instalment made payable March 25th, 1793. Cler- 
mont established. 

1789-92. Charles Pinckney governor. State records removed 
to Columbia, December 1st, 1789. First legislature meet at 
Columbia, January, 1790, The present constitution of the state 
tliere ratified, June 3d of the same year. The United States census 
in 1790 makes the population of South Carolina consist of 140,178 
whites; 107,074 slaves, and 1,801 free blacks and colored. Total 
249,073. 

1792-4. Arnoldus Vanderhorst governor. Right of primogeniture 
abolished, and an equal distribution granted of intestates' estates. 
Roman Catholics organized into a church, Monday the 2nd of 
May, 1791. George Washington, president of the United States, 
arrives in Charleston, accompanied by his wife and suite. Is re- 
ceived with unmeasured enthusiasm; visits the public and military 
works. On the 9th of May leaves Charleston for Savannah ; es- 
corted on his way to Ashley ferry, by governor Vanderhorst, gen- 
erals Moultrie, Pinckney, and other distinguished citizens. 1792. 
The orphan house established in Charleston. Yellow fever pre- 
vails in Charleston with great fatality; one hundred and sixty-five 
persons fall victims in four months. Instalment law expires with 
the last payment, 25th of March, 1793. Santee canal begun in 
1793. 

1794-6. William Moultrie, second time governor. Orphan 
house goes into operation. Considerable increase in the cultivation 
of cotton. 

1796-8. Charles] Pinckney governor. The French Protestant 
church a second time destroyed by fire in Charleston. 

1798-1800. Edward Rutledge governor. The yellow fever prevails 
in Charleston in 1799, but with less fatality than in previous years ; 
ninety-six persons, mostly Europeans, fall its victims. The 
French Protestant church is rebuilt. The legislature establishes 
tlie office of comptroller general. The state is divided into twenty- 
four comities, districts and parishes, vix : Beaufort, Charleston, 
Georgetown, Orangeburg, Camden, Cheraw, Ninety-SLx, Pinck- 



APPENDIX. 323 

ney and Washington districts. The parishes and counties are 
St. Helena, St. Luke, Prince William, St. Peter, St. Philip, St. 
Michael, St. Bartholomew, St. John, Colleton, St. Andrew, St. 
Paul's, All-Saints, Prince George, Frederick, Lewisburg or St. Mat- 
thews, Orange, Lexington, Winton, Clarendon, Clermont, Salem, 
Richland, Faiifield, Chesterfield, Darlington, York, Chester, 
Union, Spartanburg, Pendleton, Greenville, Abbeville, Edgefiejd, 
Newberry and Laurens. Three years after, another arrangement 
took place, by which the grand divisions of the state were made to 
embrace twenty-eight districts, which are as follows: — Lower 
Districts: Beaufort, Charleston, Colleton, Georgetown, Williams- 
burg, Marion and Horry. Middle Districts : Barnwell, Edgefield, 
Orangeburg, Newberry, Lexington, Richland, Fairfield, Sumter, 
Kershaw, Darlington, Chesterfield and Marlborough. Upper Dis- 
tricts: Abbeville, Laurens, Union, Chester, Lancaster, York, 
Spartanburg, Greenville and Pendleton. The last district has 
recently been divided into two separate judicial districts, one of 
which is called Pickens, and the other Anderson. 

1800-2. John Drayton governor. County courts abolished, and 
district courts substituted in every district. Santee canal finished 
and goes into operation in 1801. South Carolina college estab- 
lished by the legislature in December, 1801. United States census 
makes the population of South Carolina to consist of 196,255 whites; 
146,151 slaves, and 3,185 free blacks and colored. Total 345,591. 

1802-4. James B. Richardson governor. Vaccination first in- 
troduced, by Dr. Ramsay, into South Carolina. 

1804-6. Paul Hamilton governor. Charleston is visited, Sep- 
tember 8th, 1804, by a dreadful hurricane, which destroys a large 
amount of property. Debts due the state amount to ^734,755. 

1806-8. Charles Pinckney governor. Right of suffrage made 
free to all white citizens, without requiring a property qualification^ 

1808-10. John Drayton governor. 

1810-12. Population of South Carolina, by the United States 
census of 1810, consists of 214,196 whites, 196,365 slaves; and 4,554 
free blacks and colored, making a total of 413,515. General free 
school system for poor children established in 1811. 



324 



APPENDIX. 



1812-14. Joseph Allston governor. The bank of the state es- 
tabhshed. Commissioners on the part of South and North CaroUna 
determine and designate the boundary line between the respective 
states. The geographical designation of South Carolina is as fol- 
lows: South Carolina is situated between 32° 4' 30" and 35° 12' 
North latitude, and 1° 30' and C° 54' West longitude, from the cap- 
ital at Washington, or 78° 25' and 83° 49' West longitude from 
Greenwich. From the closest computation which has been made, 
South Carolina contains 30,213 square miles, or 19,435,680 acres; 
and averages in length 189, and in breadth 160 miles. Her present 
limits are included within the foUowiiig lines : — 

" Beginning ata cedar stake, marked with nine notches, on the shore 
of the Atlantic Ocean fGoat Island, J about one mile and a quarter east 
of the mouth of Little river, and running thence north 47° 30' west, 
91 miles 17 chains, (along the line run in 1764, j to a light wood 
post; (the northeast corner of the state -,) from thence south 89° 5' 
west, 65 miles 40 chains, to the end of the line run in 1764 ; thence 
north 2° 15' east, 7 miles 59 chains, to a marked sweet-gum, desig- 
nating the southeast corner of the Catawba Indian boundary line, 
('being the intersection of the five mile creek, j Thence north 41° 
west, 33 miles 8 chains, to a marked hickory, about one third of a 
mile beyond Thomas P. Smith's house ; thence south 52° west, 7 
miles to the Catawba river, ('near the mouth of White's branch;^ 
thence north 3° west, up the Catawba river, about 7 miles, to where 
it intersects the line run in 1772, ('which commences at the mouth of 
the Little Catawba river,j thence along the said line, due west 64 
miles 40 chains, to a stone near the Try on mountain, marked S. C. 
which designates the termination of the line run in 1772. Here the 
commissioners appointed by the legislatures of North and South 
Carolina, to establish the north boundary line between the two 
states, set up a stone in 1813, marked N. C. and S. C, September 
15th, 1813; and thence continued the line due west 4 miles 22^ 
chains, to a rock marked S. C. and N. C; thence south 25° west, 
29.^ chains, to a chesnut on the top of the ridge, dividing the waters of 
the north fork of Pacolet river, from the waters of the north fork of 
Saluda river ; thence along the said ridge, ("keeping on the summit 
of the same all the way, j until it intersects the Cherokee Indian 



APPENDIX. 325 

boundary line, fin a straight line near 30 miles, and following the 
ridge 50 miles,) where a stone is set up and marked S. C. and N. 
C. 1813; thence south 68° 15' west, 18 miles 30 chains, to the inter- 
section of the 35° North latitude, which is marked on a rock in the 
east branch of Chatooga river, with latitude 35° A. D. 1813, fall 
which aforesaid lines divide this state from North Carolina, j thence 
down the Chatooga river to its junction with the Tugaloo, where it 
is called the Toruro river, ('general course southwest 29°, distance 
in a straight line 25 miles, j thence down the Tugaloo and Savannah 
rivers, to the intersection of the same with the Atlantic Ocean ; 
^general course southeast 40°, distance in a straight line 226 miles, j 
all which divide this state from Georgia; thence along the sea- 
coast, including all the islands adjacent, to the place of beginning, 
Cgeneral course northeast 54° 30', 187 miles in a straight line,) 

18th of June, 1812, the congress of the United states declare 
war against Great Britain. The war was of brief duration, lasting 
about two years. In this time, apart from the usual unfavorable 
effects of war upon commerce. South Carolina suffered little 
from its influence. Occasional descents were made upon her coasts 
by the British cruisers, and the entrances to the several ports of 
Charleston, Beaufort and Georgetown, were sometimes obstructed 
by their frigates. In South Carolina a becoming spirit was manifested 
to meet the enemy in the event of invasion, which was anticipated 
from the same force which penetrated to Washington. Fortifica- 
tions wei'e raised in and around Charleston; and such places along 
the coast as were more accessible for the landing of an enemy, were 
put in a condition for defence and manned with troops. In Charles- 
ton the spirit of individual enterprise and valor kept equal pace with 
that of the public authorities. A number of private armed vessels 
were sent forth, which did immense injury to the commerce of Great 
Britain and sent in numerous prizes. One or two events occurring 
in shore, along the Carolina coast, were particularly brilliant, and 
surpassed by no exploits during the war. Among these was the 
defence of the schooner Alligator in January, 1814. 

This vessel was commanded by saiUng master Bassett, and lay 
abreast of Cole's Island. Observing an enemy's frigate and brig 
just without the breakers, and suspecting that an attack would be 

28* 



326 APPENDIX. 

made upon him during the night, Mr. Bassett made his preparations 
to receive the enemy accordingly. Six boats were discovered 
pulhng up with muffled oars, and under cover of the marsh, atabout 
8 o'clock in the evening. They were hailed and fired upon. A 
general discharge of grape and musketry from both sides followed, 
and was continued for half an hour. The assailants were beaten 
and driven off with considerable loss. The Alligator had two men 
killed and two wounded. Her force was but forty men, while that 
of the British was near one hundred and forty, A large cutter of the 
enemy was shortly after picked up on North Edisto, supposed to have 
been one of theboatsused on the occasion by the enemy. The bodies 
of an officer and a common seaman were found near it; the former, 
besides other wounds, having lost an arm. The Alligator was after- 
wards sunk in a squall while lying in Port Royal sound, off the 
island of St. Simons. Seventeen of her crew and two officers 
perished. 

August, 1813. The Decatur, a private armed vessel of Charles- 
ton, mounting seven guns and commanded by captain Diron, being 
on a cruise, discovered a ship and schooner and stood towards them. 
She was soon abreast of the latter, which hoisted English colors and 
fired a «hot, but without effect. After much maneuvering, and the 
ineffectual exchange of several shot, together with a broadside, the 
two vessels came into close action, and a severe fire of musketry 
ensued. Captain Dironprepared to board, and succeeded in doing so. 
The resistance of the British was desperate. Fire arms became 
useless and the fight was carried on with the cutlass. The captain 
and chief officers of the enemy were killed, her decks covered with 
dead and wounded, and her colors were finally torn down by the 
Americans. The prize proved to be the Dominica of fifteen guns, 
with a crew of eighty men. She suffered a loss of thirteen killed and 
forty-seven wounded ; amongthe former was her commander. The 
Decatur had but four killed and sixteen wounded. The king's 
packet. Princess Charlotte, which had sailed under convoy of the 
Dominica from St. Thomas, remained an inactive spectator of the 
bloody contest, which lasted an hour. At its close she made sail to 
the southward. The Decatur had suffered too greatly in rigging 
to pursue. The^ Decatur, shortly after, captures and brings into 



APPENDIX. 327 

Charleston the British ship, London Trader, mounting several guns, 
and having a valuable cargo of sugar, coffee, cotton, rum and 
molasses. 

Same month, ('August 18th,) the British make a descent upon 
Dewees' Island, burn some small craft, and ravage several planta- 
tions. From Capers' Island they carry off supplies of live stock, 
&c. 

August 22nd. The British land at Hilton Head. 27th-28th. 
Dreadful gale on the coast, in which Charleston and Sullivan's 
Island, Beaufort, Georgetown, Edisto and Goose Creek suffer great 
loss in life and property. The British sloop of war Moselle 
wrecked and goes to pieces in Broad river. October 27th. The 
British blockade Charleston and make several prizes. 

1814-16. David R. Williams governor. In January, 1815, 
while captain Dent, who commanded at Charleston, was at the 
North Edisto, he obtained information that a party of the enemy be- 
longing to the British ship Hebrus, was watering on a neighboring 
island. He directed Mr. Laurence Kearney to proceed outside 
with three barges, to cut off their retreat, while a detachment of 
militia advanced upon them by land. The frigate was at anchor out 
of gun-shot. Seeing the design of the Americans, she fired guns and 
made other signs of recall, when two of the boats pulled towards 
her, and a tender that contained a strong party attempted to run out 
also. The wind shifted at this time, bringing the Hebrus to wind- 
ward of the American barges, but the tender to leeward of them. 
Kearney, regardless of the frigate and of the two boats, directed his 
aim at the tender. The Hebrus made the greatest exertions to save 
her. Shot were fired at her own cutters to drive them back to the 
assistance of the tender, and a third boat was also dispatched to her 
succor. The fire of the frigate was also opened upon the American 
barges, and with such effect, that a shot took off the head of a man at 
Mr. Kearney's side. But the gallantry of this officer effected his 
object. He laid the tender aboard and captured her directly under 
the guns of the frigate. The launch of the Hebrus was also taken. 
The tender, besides other arms, had acarronade and six brass swiv- 
els in her. Forty prisoners were made on this occasion and brought 
into South Edisto. A few days later, the same gentleman, in the 



328 APPENDIX. 

launch of the Hebrus, with a crew of twenty-five men, went out and 
captured a tender belonging to the Severn, in which were forty men. 
The coast of Carolina was distinguished by several other events 
marked by like gallantry and success. 

December 24th, 1814. Treaty of peace between the United 
States and Great Britain signed at Ghent. 

1816-18. Andrew Pickens governor. St Paul's church in 
Charleston consecrated. Moultrieville, on SulUvan's island, incor- 
porated. The legislature seriously begins to address itself to 
the business of internal improvement, and commences with liberal 
appropriations of money. The summer of 1817, in Charleston, dis- 
tinguished by the fatal prevalence ofysUow fever. 

1818-20. John Geddes governor. Cheraw becomes a commer- 
cial town of some consequence. 

1820-22. Thomas Bennett governor. The year 1822 was d^ 
tinguished in Charleston, by a bold but unsuccessful attempt at 
msurrection, by a small portion of the slave population. The 
consj)iracy was planned by one Denmark Vesey, a mulatto from 
Saint Domingo, who had been a spectator of the insurrection in that 
island, and brought with him a taste for its horrors to Carolina. 
His plans were marked by considerable intelligence and judg- 
ment. By the fidelity of native slaves, the plot was discovered and 
the design defeated. Vesey, the ring-leader, with thirty-four of the 
more prominent conspirators, was hung; a like number were 
transported from the state, and about twice the number, who had 
been arrested, were acquitted. The whole number arrested was 
one hundred and thirty-one. Four white men, foreigners, were in- 
dicted as privy to, and participants in, the conspiracy. They were 
indicted for misdemeanor in inciting slaves to insurrection, found 
guilty, and sentenced to fine and imprisonment. 

1822-4. John L. Wilson governor. The low country visited 
by a destructive hurricane. Many lives and much property de- 
stroyed. St. Stephen's chapel established as a free church in 
Charleston. 1823. Medical College of South Carohna incorpo- 
rated. 

1824-6. Richard I. Manning governor. The courts of law new 
modeled in 1824. General LaFayette revisits South Carolina after 



APPENDIX. 239 

an absence of forty-seven years. His arrival hailed witli great en- 
thusiasm and many honors. Has a private interview with colonel 
Hiiger, who distinguished himself, while yet a youth, in an effort to 
set LaFayette free from the dungeons of Olmutz. General C. C 
Pinckney dies August 16th, 1825. 

1826-8. John Taylor governor. Legislature passes resolutions 
December 12, 1827, against the tariff laws of the United States. 
The commissioners of free schools report the establishment of eight 
hundred and ninety-two schools within the state, in which eight 
thousand eight hundred and thirty-four scholars are taught, at an 
annual cost of $38,580. 

1828-30. Stephen D. Miller governor. The free school report 
for 1828 lessens the number of schools to eight hundred and forty, 
but increases the number of pupils to nine thousand and thirty -six ; 
the cost for which is also increased to $39,716. South Carolina 
legislature passes resolutions against the United States tariff, De- 
cember 15th, 1828, and enters protest December 19th, 1828. 

1830-2. JamesHamiltonJr. governor. 1832. Medical College 
of the state of South Carolina incorporated. Goes into successful 
operation in 1833. Great debate in congress between Hayne of 
South Carolina and Webster of Massachusetts, on the subject of 
State rights and federal relations, January 21 , 1830. South Carohna 
makes a declaration of state rights and enacts an ordinance to nullify 
the operation of the act of congress imposing duties, &c. December, 
17th, 1830. 

1833-4. Robert Y. Hayne governor. Andrew Jackson, presi- 
dent of the United States, issues a proclamation denunciatory 
of the nullification proceedings of South Carohna. Is answered 
by the governor's proclamation asserting the sovereignty of the 
state, &c. 

1834-6. George McDuffie governor. The annual report of the 
commissioners of free schools for 1835 makes the number of schools 
seven hundred and nine, in which eight thousand four hundred and 
seventy-five scholars are taught, at a cost of $33,631. 

1836-8. Pierce M. Butler governor. Report of free school 
commissioners makes the number of schools six hundred and ninety- 



330 



APPENDIX. 



five ; of scholars six thousand seven hundred and eighteen, and cost 
$33,634. Great Western rail-road chartered. 

1838-40. Patrick Noble governor. Legislative committee reports 
at the session of 1839, a statement of the condition of the Banks of 
South CaroHnaas follows: — 



BANKS. 



Bank of Charleston, 
Bank of the Sta.of S.C. 
S. Western R.R. Bank, 
State Bank, - - . 
MerchtsBaiikCheraw, 
Bank of Camden, - 
Bank of Georgeto\Mi, 
Comi'l P,ank Columbia, 
Union Bank, - - - 
Bank of So. Carolina. 
Planters & Mech'cs B. 
Bank of Hamburg, - 



1839. Capital, \ Circulation.] Deposits. 



July 1 

Oct. 1 

Oct. 1 

Oct.16 

Oct.3l 

Oct.31 

Nov. 1 

" 5 

" 5 

« 6 

« 8 

«12 



82,938,125 
1,156,318 48 
1,^61,421 78 
1,000,OCO 
450,000 
315,940 75 
200,000 
800,000 
1.000,000 
1,000,000 
1,000,000 
438,500 



«761,826 
563,270 
419,130 
125,762 50 
410,159 
272,950 
173,666 
436,760 

34,696 67 
346,395 
458,935 
495,545 



11,610.305 01 4,499,095 17 2,401,252 04 1,856,143 56 



;g693,902 12 

612,289 45 

69,072 61 

70,607 48 

28,024 30 

46,867 65 

29,729 39 

53,622 70 

198,122 23 

183,150 10 

355,006 03 

60,857 98 



Specie. 



!S 516,762 33 

291,180 40 

185,001 03 

21,352 68 

83,782 65 

70,704 44 

46,775 88 

184,667 34 

83,090 56 

81,346 06 

168,061 44 

123,388 75 



Same session (^1839^ returns of the state census make the free 
white inhabitants as follows : — 



Spartanburg, - - - - 
St. Philip and St. Michael, 

Edgefield, 

Abbeville, - - - . . 

Anderson, 

Greenville, 

Laurens, 

Pickens, - - - - - 

York, 

Barnwell, - - - . 
Union, - - - - - 

Chester, 

Fairfield, - - . - 

Sumter, 

Marion, - .. - - - 
Newberry, - - - - 
Orangeburg, - - - 



17,847 Darlington, 6,029 

15,66] Lexington, 5,846 

15,069 Colleton, 5,845 

14,006 Richland, 5,773 

12,839 Lancaster, 5,509 

12,556 Chesterfield, ... - 5,413 

12,382 Marlborough, - - - - 4,119 

11,491 Keishaw, 3,947 

'11,173 Horry, ----.- 3,930 

10,978 Williamsburg, .... 2,687 

10,873 Georgetown, - - - - 2,014 

9,349 St. James, Goose Creek, 1,302 

9,1.52jSt. John's Berkley, - - 812 

8,916:St. John's, Colleton, - - 679 

8,291 ! St. Stephen's, - - - - 390 

8,286|-S't. James' Santee, - - 283 
7,392| 



In the same session ("1839) the committee on education, to which 
was referred the reports of the commissioners of free schools, for 
the several districts and parishes in this state, beg leave to report : 
That the subjoined schedule contains the number of schools estab- 
lished or assisted, the number of scholars taught, and the sums of 
money expended :— 





APPENDIX. 




331 


Districts and Parislies. 


Schools, 


Scholars. 


Expenses. 


Abbeville, - 


- 


57 


467 


$1,981 25 


Horry, 


. 


9 


169 


300 00 


Pickens, - 


- 


31 


248 


754 37 


Newberry,- 


. 


45 


592 


1,624 06 


Spartanb urg, - 


. 


9 


190 


1,500 00 


Lancaster, - 


- 


23 


308 


1,585 00 


Fairfield, - 


- 


22 


100 


1,200 00 


York, - . 


- 


53 


283 


1,852 00 


Darlington, 


. 


39 


152 


500 00 


Marlborough, - 


- 


18 


166 


547 00 


Barnwell, - 


. 


11 


90 


000 00 


Union, 


. 


39 


597 


1,769 00 


Anderson, - 


. 


41 


179 


900 00 


Lexington, 


. 


29 


270 


689 57 


Greenville, 


. 


33 


184 


1,115 00 


Williamsburg, - 


- 


8 


109 


649 08 


Kershaw - 


. 


17 


253 


900 00 


Chester, - 


. 


48 


608 


1,752 24 


Laurens, - 


- 


30 


203 


1,202 71 


Richland, - 


- 


6 


104 


1,008 99 


Marion, 


. 


8 


290 


600 00 


Edgefield, - 


- 


- 129 


1257 


2,214 10 


Prince George, Winyaw, - 


7 


141 


695 00 


Clarendon, 


- 


8 


58 


606 00 


Clermont, - 


- 


- 20 


104 


900 00 


Orange Parish, - 


- 


27 


253 


968 18 


St. Matthew's, - 


- 


13 


68 


300 00 


St. John's. Berkley, 


- 


3 


54 


651 22 


St. Philip and St. Michael, 


5 


448 


4,800 00 


St. James, Goose Creek, - 


3 


82 


300 00 


St. George, Dorchester, - 


13 


93 


223 06 


St. Thomas and St. 


Dennis, 


1 


15 


300 00 


St. John's, Colleton, 


- 


6 


13 


not stated. 


St. Helena, 


. 


2 


75 


600 00 


St. Peter's, 


- 





75 


626 76 


St. Luke's, 


- 


8 


54 


729 53 


St. Stephen's, - 


- 


2 


45 


300 00 


St. Bartholomew's, 


- 


9 


112 


178 82 


St. Andrew's, - 


. 


1 


22 


300 00 


Christ's Church, 


- 


2 


10 


300 00 


All Sahits,- 


. 





116 


622 00 


Chesterfield, 


- 





256 


600 00 



Total, 832 8867 $40,326 29 

No returns were made from the Parishes of Prince William and 
St, James, Santee ; and it may be added here, that the census of 
population, as well as schools, above given, is, doubtless, in manj 



332 APPENDIX. 

Bmall respects inaccurate — newspaper reports having been relied 
on. 

November 25th, 1839. Great State AgricuUural Convention 
assembles in Columbia and transacts business as folio ws : — 

PROCEEDINGS OF THE AGRICULTURAL CONVEN- 
TION. 

In accordance with the wishes of the people of most of the dis- 
tricts in our state, the Delegates to the Convention assembled in the 
Hall of the House of Representatives, on the evening of Monday, 
November 25th. 

On motion of Dr. R. W. Gibbes, Whitfield Brooks, Esq. was 
requested to take the chair, which he did. Dr. Gibbes having been 
called upon to act as Secretary, the meeting was organized. 

The delegates having been called upon to register their names, 
the following gentlemen appeared and took their seats. 

From Marlborough. — James Gillespie, W. T. EUerbe, John 
McQ,ueen. 

From Chesterfield. — Thomas E. Powe, J. Wright. 

From Marion. — Thomas Evans, William Evans, B. Moody. 

From Edgefield. — W. Brooks, James Terry, A. P. Butler, J. O. 
Nicholson. 

From Darlington. -;-Thoma3 E. Mclver, W. H. Cannon, Sen,, 
W. Wingate, Thomas P. Lide, J. F. Ervin. 

From Fairfield.— J. J. Myers, J. B. Davis, W. K. Davis, J. H. 
Means, Edward Means, D. Elkin, 

From Chester.— T. W. Moore, J. D. Crawford. 

From Richland. — F. H. Elmore, Robert W. Gibbes, James Gregg, 
Robert Henry. 

From Sumter.— ^John P. Richardson, James B. Richardson, D. 
St. P. DuBose, Thomas J. Wilder, Isaac Lenoir, J. W. English. 

From Anderson and Pickens. — J. W. Norris, J. P. Reed, J. N. 
Garvin, Jesse M'Kinney, Thomas Pinckney. 

From Spartanburgh. — H. H. Thompson, John Crawford, John 
W. Hunt, Samuel N. Evans, William K. Poole. 

From Orange and St. Matthews.— John M. Felder, S. Glover, S, 
B.Dwight, Jacob Stroman, Elisha Tyler, D. F. Jamison. 



APPENDIX. 333 

From Lancaster. — Benjamin Massey, J. P. Crocket, M. Clinton, 
John M. Baskin, William Reed. 

From Abbeville. — John A. Calhoun, P. F. Moragne, A. B. Arnold, 
James Fair, D. L. Wardlavv, George McDuffie. 

From Newberry, — Simeon Fair. 

From Greenville. — Bannister Stone. 

From Barmcell. — Charles R. Carroll, J. H. Hammond, W. 8. 
Reynolds, W. Gilmore Simms, James D. Ervvin. 

From Lexington. — J. A. Addison, L. Pou, J. C. Geiger, W. F. 
Perciv^al, L. Boozer, H.J. Canghman. 

From. St. Philip's and St. MichaeVs. — F. D. Quash, W. Washing- 
ton. 

From St. John's, Berkley. — John H. Dawson, P. P. Palmer. 

From St. Andrew's. — W. Lawton, B. R. Carroll, William J. 
Bull. 

From St. John's, Colleton. — W. M. Murray, J. Jenkins Mikell. 

From St. Helena Island. — J. A. Scott. 

Fro7n Prince Williams. — John E. Frampton. 

From Prince George, Winyaw. — R. F. W. AUston. 

From All Saints. — B. F. Dunkin. 

On motion of B. R. Carroll, Esq. Colonel F. H. ELMORE was 
unanimously elected President of the convention, and a committee 
of three designated to attend him to the chair. 

The president having addressed the convention, and stated that 
the meeting was ready to receive resolutions. Dr. James B. Davia 
proposed the following resolution, which was passed. 

Resolved, That the president appoint four vice presidents for 
this convention. Whereupon the following gentlemen were ap- 
pointed : 

Col. R. F. W. ALLS TON, of Prince George, Winyaw. 
Gen. GEORGE McDUFFIE, of AbbeviUe. 
Gen. JAMES GILLESPIE, of Marlborough. 
WILLIAM ELLIOTT; Y^^ci. , of Beaufort. 

B. R. Carroll, Esq. introduced the following resolution, which 
was carried. 

Resolved, That a committee of fifteen be appointed, to arrange 
business for the convention. 

29 



334 APPENDIX. 

The chair then named the following gentlemen: 
B. R. Carroll, of St. Andrews. 
W. T. Elberbe, of Marlborough. 
Thomas Evans, of Mai ion. 
William H. Cki^NON, of Darlington. 
James B. Davis, of Fairfield. 
J. Gregg, of Richland. 
W. Reynolds, of Burnwell. 
J. P. Richardson, of Sumter. 

A. B. Arnold, of Abbeville. 
J. H. Hammoi^d, of Barnwell. 

F. D. Quash, of St. Philip and St. Michad. 
J. A. Scott, of St. Helena Island. 

B. F. DuNKiN,o/^Z/ Saints. 
W. Brooks, of Edgefield. 
B. Massey, of Lancaster. 

Dr. Davis moved that the committee be allowed until 6 o'clock 
to-morrow evening to prepare their report, which was agreed to. 

On motion of Charles R. Carroll, Esq. the convention adjourned 
till 6 o'clock on Tuesday evening. 

Tuesday, Nov. 26, 1839. 

The convention met, agreeably to appointment, at 6 o'clock. The 
minutes of the first meeting were read. On motion of H. J. Caugh- 
man, Esq. 

It was resolved, that delegates who are present, who have not 
registered their names in the secretary's book, be requested to 
do so. 

The following gentlemen appeared, enrolled their names, and 
took their seats. 

From Fairfield.— W. J. AUston, John M. Robertson, Burrel B. 
Cook. 

From Sumter. — Hon. J. S. Richardson. 

From Anderson. — J. B. Reed, J. E. Calhoun. 

From Richland. — R, H. Goodwyn, D. D. Finley. 

From Edgefield. — M. Watson. 

From Lexington. — H. Arthur. 

From Union. — Z. P. Herndon. 

From Prince George, JVinyaio. — Thomas G. Carr. 



APPENDIX. 335 

The president called for the report of the committee of fifteen, 
when the chairman, B. R. Carroll, Esq., submitted the following 

REPORT. 

The committee appointed to prepare business for the agricultural 
convention, beg leave respectfully to report, that after an enquiry, 
in which the sentiments of the different sections of our state have 
been consulted, they are of opinion that the following subjects are 
fit and proper for the consideration of the convention, viz. 

1, The creation, by the legislature, of an agricultural professor- 
ship in the South Carolina College. 

2; The appropriation, by the legislature, of a sum of money to 
defray the expenses of a geological and agricultural survey of the 
state. 

3. The establishment of an agricultural school in some central 
and healthy position of the state. 

4. The establishment of a stale board of agriculture, to meet at 
Columbia or somewhere else in the state. 

5. The introduction into our free schools of some elementary 
work on agriculture. 

In limiting their recommendation to the propositions alluded to, 
the committee have done so with a view of not crowding upon the 
convention the consideration of too many topics of absorbing in- 
terest. They believe that the fault of our agricultural meetings has 
heretofore been, that they have attempted too much, and done too 
little. Hoping, therefore, that they have selected such matters as 
will interest the convention, they beg to be discharged from the 
further consideration of the subject. 

The report having been laid before the convention for discussion, 
Charles R. Carroll, Esq. addressed the chair in support of its 
recommendations. He was followed by James H. Hammond Esq. 
in opposition. J. A. Calhoun, Esq., and B. R. Carroll, Esq., spoke 
in reply to colonel Hammond. 

B. R. Carroll, Esq, moved to consider the propositions of the 
report separately, and to add to the first and second propositions, 
the words, " and that the same be recommended to the legislature ;" 
so that it would read as follows: 



336 APPENDIX, 

1. The creation, by the legislature, of an agricultural professor- 
ehip in the South Carolina College, and that the same be recom- 
mended to the legislature. 

2. The appropriation, by the legislature, of a sum of money to 
defray the expenses of a geological and agricultural survey of the 
state, and that the same be recommended to the legislature. 

Colonel Hammond moved to lay the first proposition on the 
table, which was agreed to. He then moved to lay the second 
proposition on the table, which was rejected. The ayes not being 
satisfied, the votes were taken by the tellers, when it was found 
that there were thirty-four ayes and fifty-seven noes. So the second 
proposition was before the meeting. 

H. H. Thompson, Esq. moved, 

"That upon that proposition there should be a division of the 
question, and that the vote should be taken on the propriety of re- 
commending a geological survey, apart from an agricultural survey." 

This motion was under discussion, when it was moved by Dr. 
Arnold that the convention do now adjourn, to meet on to-morrow 
evening at half past five o'clock. 

The convention then adjourned. 

ROBERT W. GIBBES, 

Secretary. 

Wednesday, Nov. 27th, 1839. 

The convention was organized at the hour appointed. The min- 
tttes of the previous meeting were read. 

The president stated that the convention was prepared for busi- 
ness, and that the subject for their consideration was the " propriety 
of recommending to the legislature a geological survey, apart from 
an agricultural survey of the state." 

General McDuffie addressed the convention in favor of the res- 
olution, which was carried by a large majority. 

The question was then put on the second part of the proposition, 
as divided, viz : " On the propriety of recommending to the legisla- 
ture an agricultural survey of the state," and carried by a vote of 
thirty-eight ayes, thirty-two noes. 

The question then recurred on the second original proposition,, 
as reported by committee as follows : 



APPENDIX. 337 

"' The appropriation, by the legislature, of a sum of money to 
defray the expenses of a geological and agricultural survey of the 
state, and that the same be recommended to the legislature," which 
was agreed to. 

The third, fourth and fifth propositions were put and rejected. 

The report of the committee, as amended, was then submitted to 
the meeting, and adopted; and, on motion of Dr. A, B. Arnold, the 
president was requested to transmit a copy to both branches of the 
legislature. 

THE REPORT, AS ADOPTED. 

The committee appointed to prepare business for the agricultu- 
ral convention, beg leave respectfully to report, that after an en- 
quiry, in which the sentiments of the different sections of our state 
have been consulted, they are of opinion that the following is a fit 
subject for the consideration of the convention, viz : 

The appropriation, by the legislature, of a sum of money 
to defray the expenses of a geological and agricultural survey 
of the state, and that the same be recommended to the legislature. 

In limiting their recommendation to the proposition alluded to, 
the committee have done so with the view of not crowding upon 
the convention the consideration of too many topics of absorbing 
interest. They believe that the fault of our agricultural meetings 
has heretofore been, that they have attempted too much, and done 
too little. Hoping, therefore, that they have selected such a matter 
as will interest the convention, they beg to be discharged from the 
further consideration of the subject intrusted to them. 

At the request of J. M. Felder, Esq., the Hon. A. P. Butler, who 
had voted in the affirmative, moved a re-consideration of the report, 
in order that he might propose an amendment thereto, which was 
agreed to. He then proposed the following amendment to the 
report : 

Resolved, That it be recommended to the legislature to take 
measures to secure a sound and stable currency in this state. 

Major Felder spoke at length in favor of his motion. Hon. A. 
P. Butler said a few words in opposition, and proposed to lay it 
on the table, which was carried. 

29* 



338 APPENDIX. 

Dr. James B. Davis then introduced the foDowing resolutions. 

1. Resolred. Thi*t a state agricultural society be formed forthwith, 
to meet in Columbia. 

2. Resolved, That the society be recommended to establish an an- 
nual fair and stock show in the town of Columbia, with suitable pre- 
miums for the finest animals exhibited, &c. The exhibition to be 
held on the first week of the session. 

3. Resolvtdf That the society be also recommended to offer 
suitable premiums for the best lots of cotton, best variety of com. 
small grain. Sec. 

4. Resolved. That the society be also recouMnended to offer 
euitable premiums for the best essay on the culture of rice. com. 
email grain, cotton and the grasses, embracing in each essay a com- 
plete manual in the whole operations of a plantation,, of each of these 
products, of suitable size, comprehending management of negroes, 
improvirg lands. &c. 

5. Resolved. That said society be divided into committees allotted 
to each and every distinct branch of agriculture, embracing geology, 
introduction of foreign seeds, &c. 

6. Resolred. That the society provide the means of paying these 
premiums by an annual tax on the members. 

7. Resolred. That the convention recommend to each district to 
form agricultural societies. 

These resolutions were seconded by colonel J. H. Hammond, in 
a speech of some length. 

W. Brooks. Esq. proposed the foDowing amendment, which was 
adopted. 

Resolred. That as an efiicient auxilary towards the accomplish- 
ment of this high and honorable purpose, it is expedient to aid in the 
establishment of a cheap agricultural paper, to be issued weekly, at 
the seat of government, and that the same be recommended to the 
patronage of the public. 

Dr. Davis proposed the following amendment to his resohitions, 
which was adopted. 

Resolred, That this convention recommend to public patronage, 
as a means of diffusing agricultural iuformation, such papers as may 



APPENDIX. 339 

be published in the state, having for their object the diffusion of all 
matters pertaining to agriculture. 

J. E. Calhoun, Esq., moved to lay on the table the last two resolu- 
tions relating to agricultural papers, which motion was rejected. 

General J. H. Adams called for a division of the question on Dr. 
Davis' resolutions, and that the first resolution be considered sepa- 
rately, which was agreed to, and the resolution adopted, viz: 

Resolved, That a state agricultural society be formed forthwith to 
meet in Columbia. 

Dr. Davis then moved. 

That a committee of nine be appointed by the chair, to report to 
this convention, to-morrow evening, a proper plan for the organiza- 
tion of a state society, and that the remaining six resolutions of Dr. 
Davis be referred to them. Agreed to. 

B, B. Cook, Esq. moved, 

That this convention recommend to the legislature to require the 
several tax collectors of this stata, to take a return, annually, of the 
sums paid by each person in their respective districts and parishes, 
for western produce, viz: for hogs, horses and mules, and make a 
return thereof to such officer as they may direct. This resolution 
was adopted, and, on motion of major Felder, his resolution was 
taken up and referred to the committee of nine. 

The president announced the following gentlemen to compose 
the committee. 

Hon. George McDuffie, of Abbeville, 

Dr. James B. Davis, of Fairfield, 

Hon. J. P. Richardson, of Sumter, 

Hon, B. F. Dunkin, of All Saints, 

Hon. James Gregg, of Richland, 

Hon. R. F. W. Allston, of Prince George, Whiyato, 

CoL. Thomas Pinckney, of Pendleton, 

W. Brooks, Esq., of Edgefield, 

W. Gilmore Simms, EsQ.,o/Bflrnw:cJ!Zi 

The president read a communication from Dr. S. Blanding, pre- 
senting two copies of the New England Farmer, from Mr. J. Breck, 
of Boston, which was referred to the committee of nine. 



340 APPENDIX. 

W. Gilmore Simms, Esq. introduced the following preamble and 
resolutions : 

Whereas, in consequence of the scattered condition of our settle- 
ments throughout the country, the present plan of poor school 
education is found inoperative iji most instances, and partial and un- 
satisfactory in all — those towns and cities alone excepted, where the 
number of pupils is sufficiently great to justify the employment of 
competent teachers. 

Be it recommended to the general assembly of the state now iu 
session, 

That a tract of land not to contain less than fifteen hundred nor more 
than five thousand acres, centrally chosen, or as nearly so as practica- 
ble, be procured in each of the districts, with which the poor establish- 
ment of such district, shall thenceforward be endowed — that on the 
said tract of land, suitable buildings shall be erected for the reception 
and accommodation of such a number of poor boys, as, according to 
the census of the district, it shall be likely to contain — that provision 
be made of all the usual and necessary utensils for farm culture, as 
practised in said district — that it be moderately stocked with horses, 
cattle, sheep, and all such other animals as are found useful in such 
an establishment — that, when this is done, a teacher of known intel- 
ligence and integrity be procured, who shall receive an adequate 
salary for the tuition of all pupils who may be placed under his care 
by the commissioners of the said district — and that, for certain periods 
of the day, and in certain classes and divisions, to be hereafter 
determined by the commissioners, he shall have entire control of 
their studies and their time — that, at all other periods, the said pupils 
shall be placed under the control of a competent superintendant or 
overseer, who shall direct their labors and industry while preparing 
them, as farmers and planters, for the proper performance of such 
duties in after life as may seem best to correspond with their condi- 
tion and necessities. And that the commissioners of each district be 
empowered to receive as indented apprentices to the poor school of 
aaid district, on behalf of the state, all such boys, the parents of whom 
may be found desirous of securing for them the advantages of such 
tuition, and all such orphans as, governed by a praise-worthy am- 
bition, may be willing to avail themselves of the same — the term of 



APPENDIX. 341 

apprenticeship in no case to be less than three, nor more than seven 
years — unless in the case of such youth as may be already greatly 
advanced towards the years and purposes of manhood, and who, at 
the discretion of the commissioners, may be received for a still 
shorter period. 

Be it recommended yet farther, that, on the same plantation or 
tract of land, but removed from close proximity to the dwellings and 
the school house of the boys, there be erected suitable houses for the 
reception and accommodation of poor girls, who shall be placed 
under the tuition of one or more female superintendants, from 
whom they shall learn the ordinary elements of a plain English edu- 
cation — and in addition, such duties of a farm and household, as com- 
monly devolve upon females in our country — that they shall spin, 
weave and sew ; attend to poultry and the dairy, the culture of the 
silk-worm, if it be deemed advisable, and be taught also to fashion 
and make their own and the habits of the boys — the latter, in turn, 
performing all those severer labors of the plantation as will yield 
sufficient food and provision for both establishments. 

Be it farther recommended, that, in addition to the studies of 
the ordinary English grammar school, the master of the male depart- 
ment shall be required to instruct his pupils in a competent knowl- 
edge of simple land surveying. 

It is recommended, also, that the dress of the boys be made uni- 
form, and that the elder boys, ranging from the years of fifteen to 
eighteen, be provided with light muskets, and be subjected to the 
drill and instruction, once a month, of the neighborhood captain of 
militia. 

Resolved, That these recommendations be respectfully submitted 
to the general assembly, with the prayer of this convention, that they 
be subjected to examination and experiment, in three of the districts 
of the state, in order that their operation may be witnessed previous 
to their general adoption as a system for all the districts. That, in 
order that the experiment should be fairly made, the districts so 
chosen, should lie, one in each of the grand divisions of the state, the 
upper, the middle and the lower country; and that the present 
commissioners of the districts chosen, be requested to take charge 
of the entire subject. 



342 APPENDIX. 

The preamble and resolutions having been submitted, Mr. J. E. 
Calhoun moved that they be laid on the table, which was agreed to. 
Mr. J. A. Calhoun, of Abbeville, than moved that the convention do 
now adjourn to meet to-morrow evening at half past 5 o'clock, which 
motion prevailed, and the convention adjourned. 

ROBERT W GIBBES, 

Secretary. 

Thursday, Nov, 28th, 1839. 
The convention met at the appointed hour. The minutes of the 
previous meeting were read. The president called for the report of 
the committee of nine, whereupon the chairman stated that the com- 
mittee were not fully prepared to submit their report, and asked the 
indulgence of the convention until to-morrow evening, which, upon 
taking the vote, was agreed to. 
The following delegates appeared and enrolled their names : 
From Darlington — Alexander Sparks, 
From Union — E. C. Johnson, 
From St. Philip's and St. Michael's — J. Rose. 
From St. James, Goose Crcck—John Wilson. 
From All Saints — Edward Tho. Heriot. 
John A. Calhoun, Esq. introduced the following resolution: 
Resolved, That the trustees of the South Carolina college be re- 
quested to have delivered, by the professor of chemistry, in addition 
to his other duties, a course of lectures on agricultural chemistry, pro- 
vided that they do not interfere with his regular duties, 

Dr. Gibbes moved an amendment to the resolution, to insert after 
the words ''agricultural chemistry" the words ''and also on the 
principles of geology," which was agreed to. 

The resolution as amended was unanimously adopted, 
W. S. Reynolds, Esq. moved the appointment of a committee of 
three to communicate the resolution to thepresidentof the trustees, 
whereupon the president designated. 

Dr. W. S. Reynolds, Hon. A. P. Butler, Hon. J. S. Richard- 
son, 

The president mformed the convention that he had received from 
Mr. R. E. Russell, proprietor of the botanic garden in Columbia, 



APPENDIX. 343 

with a request that he would present them to the society, a loaf of 
beet sugar from France, and several beautiful specimens of native 
silk, which were laid before the convention. 

F. D. Q,uash, Esq. moved, 

That the convention return their thanks to Mr. R. E. Russell for 
the specimens of sugar and silk presented by him, and also to Mr. J. 
Breck, of Boston, for the pamphlets on agriculture presented by 
him. 

The president requested to know what disposition he should make 
of the specimens before him; whereupon it was moved by Mr, 



That they be presented to the secretary, which was unanimously 
agreed to, 

W. Gilmore Simms, Esq. introduced the following resolutions, 
witli a request that they should be laid on the table, which was agreed 
to. 

Resolved, That no people can be capable of self government, who 
require to be deceived as to the amount of their government ex- 
penses ; and that no man can be held a freeman, who dare not look 
the cost of his liberties in the face. 

Resolved, Therefore, that direct taxation, while it saves the citizen 
from the constant impositions of the cunning, is the only honest, 
cheap, safe medium for raising supplies in a country like ours. 

Resolved, That it is a fraud upon the pubhc, whenever a bank, or 
other chartered corporation, declares a dividend upon borrowed 
money, or upon any basis, other than its clear receipts and good 
faith profits. 

Resolved, That if it be not an usurpation, it is. at least, an abuse of 
power, on the part of the legislature, to tax the citizen for any but 
the unquestionable exigences and expenses of the country ; and that 
most alliances between the state and any one class of its citizens, in 
trade or speculation, must result unfavorably to that wholesome 
competition of other classes of the community from which the peo- 
ple derive many of their chief securities. 

On motion of Hon. J. P. Richardson, the convention adjourned 
to meet at 6 o'clock to-morrow evening. 

ROBERT W. GIBBES, Secretary. 



344 APPENDIX. 

Friday, Nov. 29th, 1839. 

The convention convened this evening at the hour appointed. 
The minutes of the preceding meeting were read. 

The president called for reports of committees. 

General McDuffie submitted, from the committee of nine, the form 
of a constitution for a state agricultural society, and several resolu- 
tions. 

The constitutionhavingbeen discussed andamended, was adopted. 
The resolutions were also adopted, as follows : 

1. Resolved, That the president be allowed time to nominate the 
committees, and that he do appoint a committee to select the best 
essay on the cultivation of rice and cotton, respectively; each of such 
essays to embrace a complete manual, of suitable size, exhibiting the 
whole economy of a plantation; comprehending management of ne- 
groes, rearing of stock, and improvement of lands, and that he do 
provide a suitable premium for the same. 

2. Resolved, That a committee be appointed to memorialize 
the legislature to grant an annual donation of the sum of five hun- 
dred dollars, for the term of three years, to aid the society in provi- 
ding Its premiums. 

3. That this society do request the members from the several dis- 
tricts, to use their exertion to have local societies formed in each dis- 
trict, to be affiliated with this society — and that it be recommended to 
such local societies, to offer premiums for the best managed planta- 
tion in their respective districts, as well as for superiority in partic- 
ular departments and products. 

The committee ask leave to report on Mr, Felder's resolu- 
tion — 

That while they consider the resolution as of vast importance to 
the true interest of the agricultural community, they are yet of opin- 
ion, that none of its importance will escape the reflection or elude 
the vigilance of the legislature. They deem it advisable, therefore, 
to leave it to the ordinary legislation, in the confidence and hope 
that they will give it the consideration which its importance de- 
mands. 

The committee recommend the following gentlemen as officers of 
the state agricultural society. 



APPENDIX. 345 

His Excellency PATRICK NOBLE, President, 

W. B. SEA BROOK, Vice President. 

Col. W. brooks, " 

Col. W. K. CLOVVNEY, " 

Col. JAMES GREGG, 

Chanc. B. F. DUNKIN, 

B. R. CARROL, Corresponding Secretary, 

Dr. R. W. GIBBES, Recording Secretary and Treasurer. 
On motion of J. IL Hammond, Esq., Gen. George McDuffie 
was unanimously appointed anniversary orator for 1840. 

Gen. McDaffie proposed to consider the constitution clause by 
clause, and the resolutions separately; all of which, after some dis- 
cussion, were adopted. 

Whitfield Brooks, Esq. introduced the following resolutions, with 
a request that they should be laid on the table, which was agreed to. 
Resolved, That in the opinion of this convention, the multiplica- 
tion of banks in this state, invested with the legal right of substituting 
credit for capital, to three times the amount of the latter, and the 
imputed and ruinous practice of many, of exceeding their chartered 
limits, from five to seven fold, has had the eft'ect of changing almost 
the entire currency of the country, from gold and silver, to paper ; 
of substituting for a metallic currency, of permanent and intrinsic 
value, one of paper, of uncertain and fluctuating value — that one of 
the natural and inevitable eflfects of this system has been, to drive 
the more valuable currency from circulation, to be transported to 
other countries, or to be hoarded in the vaults of these chartered in- 
stitutions. 

Resolved, That another consequence, no less injurious to the 
country, has been produced by the prodigal issue of a paper currency, 
of producing two standards of value in the markets of Europe and 
this country; the one foreign, which is regulated by gold and silver 
metals, of intrinsic and uniform value among all nations, and the other 
domestic, which is regulated and controlled by paper, that to two- 
thirds of the amount of its circulation depends upon credit for the 
standard of value, which is, therefore, always fluctuating with the 
expansions and contractions of bank issues. That in consequence 
of this state of things, the planter of cotton is forced to sell his pro- 

30 



346 APPENDIX. 

duce at a price regulated by gold and silver, and purchase every 
article of consumption by a paper standard in the domestic m\irket. 
Resolved, That the legalized privilege of the banks, and their 
prodigal use of it, has mainly contributed to the vv^ild and ruinous 
speculations which have characterized the present age, and to pro- 
duce the late and existing derangement of the currency, with all the 
accompanying evils of bank suspensions, the fall in the price of the 
great staple of the southern states, and the paralized condition of 
trade. 

Resolved, That the only remedy for the evils complained of, is 
founded in the anticipation of a mi'd, gradual and judicious reform 
in the currency of the state, by that department of the government 
to which is intrusted the guardianship of the great interests of the 
community. 

Resolved, That we entertain the highest confidence in the intelli- 
gence, wisdom and patriotism of the legislative department, for the 
adoption of such provisions, by law, as will effect a wise, safe and 
gradual reform, in which no short sighted policy shall be permitted, 
that may do injustice to these institutions, or violence to the existing 
relations of society. 

Resolved, That our chief dependence of right should be, and in 
fact must be, upon the efforts of the agricultural community to work 
out their own deliverance and independence, by united and harmo- 
nious concert of action among themselves — to introduce and en« 
courage improved methods of fertilizing the soil by popular and 
scientific modes of cultivation — by the practice of economy, and es- 
pecially by the production at home, of all the articles of domestic 
consumption. 

W. J. Alston, Esq. proposed the following preamble and resolu- 
tions, which were adopted, after free discussion. 

Whereas, Good roads are indispensable to the agricultural pros- 
perity, as well as beneficial to the general interests of any country — 
and no labor being more profitable in its results than that judiciously 
bestowed upon roads — and whereas, the notoriously bad condition 
of many of the most important roads in this state, affords ample testi- 
mony of the utter inadequacy of the existing laws on this subject — 
and independent of their inefficiency, their operation is unequal and 



APPENDIX. 347 

unjust, inasmuch as they impose upon the owner of male slaves, and 
those residing nearest the chief market roads, the burthen of keeping 
in repair the public highways — exonerating all other classes — the 
merchants, the stock-jobbers, and the speculators of every cast, from 
their just share of this burthen. 

Be it therefore Resolved, That in the opinion of this convention, 
it is the duty of the legislature, either to remedy the defects of the 
present system, or to substitute another and better in its stead. 

Maj. J. M. Felder moved the following resolutions, which he pro- 
posed to lay on the table, with the consent of the convention. 

Resolced, That as the agricultural interests generally become the 
first victims of a fluctuating, disordered and corrupt currency, the 
legislature be respecfuUy requested to take such measures, as will 
restore and secure to this state, a sound and stable currency. 

Resolved, That as one step towards this desirable residt, the legis- 
lature be respectfully solicited to restrain all banks from issuing any 
bank bills of a less denomination than five dollars. 

Resolved, That this convention solemnly protest against borrowing 
any money or issuing any more bonds or stocks on the credit and 
faith of the state; and if any more money must be raised for the 
necessary purposes of an economical government, that the same be 
raised by a direct tax on the people. 

B. R. Carroll, Esq. submitted the following resolution, which was 
adopted. 

Resolved, That the committee of three be appointed to memorialize 
the legislature of this state, on the different subjects recommended 
and acted upon by this convention. 

The president named the following gentlemen as the committee. 

B. R. Carroll, Esq., — Chanc. Dunkin, — Hon. J. Gregg. 

Mr. Davis proposed the following resolutions. 

Resolced, That copies of the proceedings of this convention be fur- 
nished by the secretary, to the Carolinian and Telescope news- 
papers of this town, for publication, and that the principal papers 
of this state, friendly to the interests of agriculture, be requested to 
copy them into their columns. 

The president of the convention having retired, 

On motion of B. R. Crrroll, Esq., Col. J. H. Hammond was re- 
quested to take the chair, which having been done, 



348 APPENDIX. 

On motion of Dr, W. S. Reynolds, it was, 

Resolved, That the thanks of this convention be presented to the 
Hon. Mr. Elmore, for the courtesy and impartiality with which he 
has presided over its deliberations — and also to Dr. R. W. Gibbes, 
for his diligence, industry and general attention to the wants and 
wishes of the convention. 

Resolved, That the thanks of this convention be returned to the 
House of Representatives for the use of their Hall, 

These resolutions were unanimously adopted. 

The president having made his acknowledgements to the conven- 
tion, expressed the interest he felt in the objects of the convention, 
and recommended an earnest, united and persevering attention to 
these objects. 

On motion, the Society then adjourned. 

R. W. GIBBES, Secretary. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE AGRICULTURAL SO^ 
CIETY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

We, the undersigned, do hereby form ourselves into an associa- 
tion, to be devoted to the improvement of the agriculture and 
agricultural economy of the state. 

1st. The association shall be styled, The State Agricultural So- 
ciety of South Carolina, 

2nd. Its objects shall be strictly agricultural and rural. 

3d. All persons subscribing and paying to the treasurer the sum 
of five dollars, shall be eligible as members, 

4th. The society will receive, as members, (at its annual meeting,) 
one delegate from a district or neighborhood society. 

5th. There shall be a President, five Vice Presidents, a Corres- 
ponding Secretary, Recording Secretary and Treasurer, and an 
Anniversary Orator, who shall be annually elected by the society. 

6th. The society shall meet annually, in the town of Columbia, 
during the first week of the session of the legislature; at which time 
there shall be an exhibition and cattle show for premiums. 

7th. A quorum of the society shall consist of not less than twenty 
members, including the president or a vice president. 



APPENDIX. 349 

8th. The president shall preside at all meeting?, and in his absence 
a vice president. 

9th. The president, with a majority of the vice presidents, shall 
have power to call special meetings of the society ; but such meeting 
shall be announced in one or more of the agricultural papers of the 
state, at least thirty days before the time at which it is to be held. 

10th. The committees shall be appointed by the president. 

11th. There shall be a committee on cotton, whose province it 
shall be to collect all facts relative to the growing crop, the amount 
produced, the kind most profitable, together with such observations 
thereto relating, as may be useful to the society, and to award such 
premiums as may be provided for by the society, 

r2th. There shall be similar committees on rice, corn and small 
grain, with similar powers and duties. 

13th. There shall be a committee on stock, whose duty it shall be 
to report the best mode of rearing, the best variety, and to examine 
and award at the show the premiums for the same. 

14th. It shall be the duty of the president to publish, six months 
before the meeting, the kind and age of the stock to be shown, also of 
the products to be exhibited, and to specify in said notice the re- 
spective premiums. 

15th. The society, in prescribing premiums for stock, shall have 
reference to improvement in the stock of the country. 

16th. The president shall sign such orders on the treasury, as a 
majority of each committee shall have drawn in the performance of 
their duties. 

17th. The treasurer shall collect all monies due to the society, pay 
all orders drawn in due form, and keep the accounts regularly 
slated in the books of the society. 

18th. It shall be the duty of the corresponding secretary to revise 
all communications, before they shall be made public by authority of 
the society. 

19th. It shall be the duty of the recording secretary to keep and 
preserve the books and papers of the society, and to prepare its pro- 
ceedings for publication. 

(Here follow the. signatures.) 
3U* 



350 APPENDIX. 

November 29th, 1839. 

The state agricultural society of South Carolina, was organized 
by Whitfield Brooks, Esq., a vice president, taking the chair. 

The constitution was read, as recommended by the agricultural 
convention, and adopted. 

The following gentlemen were elected officers by nomination by 
the same committee. 

His Excellency, P. NOBLE, President. 

W. B. SEABROOK, Esq , Vice President 

Col. W. BROOKS, 

Col. W. K. CLOWNEY, " 

Col. J. GREGG, 

Chanc. B. F. DUNKIN, 

B. R. CARROLL, Esq., Corresponding Secretary, 

R. W. GIBBES. M. D., Recording Secretary and Treasurer. 

Gen. George McDUFFIE, Anniversary Orator. 

On motion of Simeon Fair, Esq., the society adjourned until to- 
morrow evening, to meet for a more perfect organization. 

ROBERT W. GIBBES, Secretary. 

Saturday, Nov. 30th, 1839. 

The society met at 6 o'clock. The president took his seat, and ad- 
dressed the society on the objects of the association, in a short but 
impressive speech. 

The minutes of the last meeting were read. The roll was caUed, 
and it appeared that seventy gentlfemen had become members. 

The president informed the society that the meeting was prepared 
for business, and open for resolutions. Major EUerbe introduced 
the following. 

Resolced, That two-thirds of the members present at the meeting 
of the society, shall be necessary to make any alteration in the consti- 
tution of the society. 

This resohition was adopted. 

Dr. Davis proposed the following resolutions, which were agreed 
to. 

Resolved, That the anniversary be commemorated by a dinner, 
and that stewards be appointed by the president to superintend the 
same. 



APPENDIX. 351 

Resolved, That Dr. Gibbes be requested and authorized to prepare 
a lot for the exhibition of stock, at our next annual meeting. 

Major Ellerbe moved, 

That Thursday after the 4th Monday in November be the anniver- 
sary, and that the dinner shall take place on that day. Agreed to. 

J. A. Calhoun, Esq. introduced a preamble and resolutions as 
follows : 

Whereas, it is a matter of the first moment to check emigration 
from our state as much as possible; and whereas, the great source 
from which emigiation originates, is in the comparison of our worn 
out fields with the fertile plains of the west — and whereas, the only 
means of preventing this unfavorable comparison and deplorable 
result, is to improve our lands by the most speedy means practicable; 

Therefore, be it resolved, 

1st. That this society do recommend to the planters and farmers 
of our state, the adoption of the most energetic means of improving 
our lands under existingcircumstauces, as far as may be compatible 
with their present condition. 

2nd. That a committee of three be appointed by the president of 
this society, whose duty it shall be to report to the next annual meet- 
ing of this society, as to the best means of improving our lands under 
existing circumstances. Adopted. 

Col. Pinckney proposed the following resolution, which was 
agreed to. 

Resolved, That all persons engaged in planting, farming, horti- 
culture, or breeding stock, are earnestly recommended to publish 
from time to time, in the agricultural papers of the state, the results 
of their observation and experience. 
Col R.F.W.AUston moved. 

That when this society adjourns, it do so to meet on the 4th Mon- 
day in November next, at 6 o'clock P. M. Agreed to. 
On motionof Dr. Davis, the society adjourned. 

ROBERT W. GIBBES, Secretary. 



April, 1840. Governor Noble dies. Is succeeded by lieutenant 
governor Henegan, 



[From the Columbia Telescope.] 

AN INTERESTING PUBLIC DOCUMENT. 

We have never seen the following document in print, which 
we now publish from the original manuscript, in the possession 
of a gentleman of this town. It gives us an account of a bril- 
liant aftair in our revolution, drawn up at the time by the chief 
actors in it, and expressed in the plain, strong style that belonged 
to the period. This, with very many other battles in the south, 
have never attracted the applause, or attained the historical noto- 
riety, which have attended the revolutionary incidents of similar 
magnitude in other quarters ; and, indeed, so much more has been 
written concerning the revolutionary incidents of the north, and so 
much more been done by the people and the states in that section to 
commemorate and signalize them, that the present generation in 
the neighborhood of Cowpens and King's Mountain, know more 
about Bunkers Hill and Lexington, and more of Stark and Putnam, 
than of Pickens or Campbell. 

No monument, inscription stone, 

Their race, their deeds, their names, almost unknown. 

We have always thought that those battle fields in our state, which 
were illustrated by the gallantry and devotion of our ancestors, should 
be marked by permanent mementos, at the cost of the state — every 
one, from Fort Moultrie to King's Mountain ; and he who would 
carry such a measure through the legislature, would himself deserve 
a monument. 

"A state of the proceedings of the Western Army, from the 25th 
day of September, 1780, to the reduction of Major Ferguson and 
the Army under his command. 

On receiving intelligence that Major Ferguson had advanced up 
as high as Gilbert Town in Rutherford County, and threatened to 
cross the Mountains to the Western Waters — 

Col. William Campbell, with four hundred men from Washing- 
ton County of Virginia, Col. Isaac Shelby, with two hundred and 



354 REVOLUTIONARY DOCUMENT. 

forty men from Sullivan'county of North Carolina, and Lieut. Col. 
John Sevier, with two hundred and forty men from Washington 
county of North Carolina, assembled at Wattaiiga, on the '2bth day 
of September, where they were joined by Col. Charles M'Dowell, 
with one hundred and sixty men from the counties of Burk and 
Rutherford, who had fled before the enemy to the Western Wa- 
ters. We began our march on the 26th, and on the 3Qth we were 
joined by Col. Cleaveland, on the Cataba River, with three hun- 
dred and fifty men from the Counties of Wilkes and Surry. No 
one officer having properly a right to the command in chief, on the 
first of October we dispatched an express to Major General Gates, 
informing him of our situation, and requested him to send a General 
Officer to take the command of the whole. In the mean time Col. 
Campbell was chosen to act as commandant till such General Officer 
should arrive. We marched to the Cowpens on Broad River in 
South CaroUna, where we were joined by Col. James WiUiams 
with four hundred men, on the evening of the 6th of October, who 
informed us that the enemy lay encamped some where near the 
Cherokee ford of Broad River, about 30 miles distant from us ; by 
a council of the principle officers, it was then thought advisable to 
pursue the enemy that night, with nine hundred of the best horse- 
men, and leave the weak horse and foot men to follow as fast as 
possible. We began our march with 900 of the best men about 8 
o'clock the same evening; and marching all night came up with 
the enemy about 3 o'clock P. M. on the 7th, who lay encamped on 
the Top of King's Mountain 12 miles north of the Cherokee ford, 
in the confidence that they could not be forced from so advantageous 
a post. Previous to the attact, on our march, the following disposi- 
tion was made. Col. Shelby's ridgment formed a column in the 
centre of the left, Col. Campbell's ridgment an other on the right; 
part of Col. Cleveland's ridgment, headed in front by Major Wins- 
ton, and Col. Sevier's ridgment. formed a large column on the right 
Wing; the other part of Col. Cleveland's ridgment, headed by Col. 
Cleveland himself, and Col. Williams' ridgment, composed the left 
wing; in this order we advanced and got within a quarter of a mile 
of the enemy before we were discovered. Col. Shelby's & Col. 
Campbell's ridgments began the attact, and kept up a fire on the 



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REVOLUTIONARY DOCUMENT. 355 

enemy, while the right and left Wings were advancing forward to 
surround them, which was done in about five minutes and the fire 
became general all around; the engagement lasted an hour and 
five minutes, the greatest part of which time an heavy and incessant 
fire was kept up on both sides; our men in some parts whei'e the 
regulars fought were oblidged to give way a small distance, two or 
three times, but rallied and returned with additional ardour to the 
attact. The troops upon the right having gained the Summit of the 
Eminence, oblidged the enemy to retreat along the top of the ridge 
to where Col. Cleveland commanded, and were there stopt by his 
brave men ; a flag was immediately hoisted by Captain Depoisture 
then commanding officer (Major Ferguson having been killed a little 
before) for a surrender; our fire immediately ceased, and the enemy 
laid down there arms, the greater part of them charged, and surren- 
dered themselves prisoners to us at discretion. 

It appears from their own provision returns for that day, found 
in their camp, that their whole force consisted of eleven hundred 
and twenty-five men — out of which they sustained the following loss. 
Of the regulars, one Major, one Captain, 2 '^ergents and fifteen pri- 
vates killed, thirty-five privates wounded left on the ground notable 
to march. Two Captains, four Lieutenants, three Ensigns, one 
Surgeon, five Sergents, three corporals, one drummer and 49 pri- 
vates taken prisoners; loss of the tories, Two Colonels, three Cap- 
tains, and 201 privates killed ; one Major and 127 privates wounded 
and left on the ground not able to march ; One Colonel, twelve Cap- 
tains, eleven Lieutenants, two Ensigns; one Q,uarter Master, one 
Adjutant, two Commissarys. eighteen Sergents, and 600 privates 
taken prisoners. Total loss of the enemy 1105 men at King's 
Mountain. 

Given under our hands at Camp. 

WM. CAMPBELL. 

ISAAC SHELBY. 

BENJ. CLEVELAND." 



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